Commission on No Child Left Behind

National Education Summit Agenda

Agenda

Monday, September 15, 2008
Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C.

Registration & Continental Breakfast - 7:30-8:30 a.m.

Welcome and Opening Remarks - 8:30-8:45 a.m.
Walter Isaacson, President & CEO, Aspen Institute

Session One: The State of American Education—Where Do We Stand?  - 8:45-9:50 a.m.

Despite spending more money per child than nearly every other developed country, U.S. students are falling dangerously behind their international peers and just half of all African-American and Hispanic students graduate from high school in four years. Key leaders, with different perspectives, will engage in a frank conversation about the state of American education, underscoring the urgency of our current situation. They will discuss how vital it is that we work across party lines, and with all sectors of our society to develop a superior educational system based on accountability and transparency, that serves all of our children well for lives of opportunity and to compete in the global economy.

Introduction: Secretary Margaret Spellings and Governor Roy Romer

Commentary: Juan Williams, Fox News and National Public Radio

Discussion:

• Moderator: Michael Lomax, President, United Negro College Fund
• Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education
• Roy Romer, Chairman, Strong American Schools
• Joel Klein, Chancellor, New York City Public Schools
• Tom Donohue, President & CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Session Two: Educational performance; what are the implications for the nation’s economy, global competitiveness, security, healthcare? - 9:50-11:05 a.m.

For many individuals, the problems facing our education system appear to have little relation to or impact on their daily lives. However, our nation’s health and prosperity depends on a highly skilled and innovative workforce, vigorous civic institutions, and fully engaged citizens—all of which require first-rate education. For example, high school dropouts are more likely than graduates to suffer from health problems that drive up health care costs, more likely to be involved in criminal activity, and less likely to vote and take part in civic affairs. During this discussion, prominent leaders from the economic, national security, health care and civil rights arenas will discuss the importance of an effective education system to these and other areas of our national life most often cited by voters.

Discussion:

• Moderator: Walter Isaacson, President & CEO, Aspen Institute
• Tommy Thompson, Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
• John Engler, President, National Association of Manufacturers
• John Podesta, President & CEO, Center for American Progress
• Byron Auguste, Chairman, Hope Street Group
• Janet Murguìa, President and CEO, National Council of La Raza

Break - 11:05-11:20 a.m.

Session Three: A matter of will; can we sustain our commitment to excellence for all children? -  11:20-12:30 p.m.

Despite broad support for taking action to improve our schools, there has been a significant push back against the core elements of effective reform built on accountability for results, transparency on performance and high expectations for every child. Influential educational leaders will discuss why the broad-based support for these reform principles at the national and state level has been difficult to translate into sustained buy-in at the local level for making the tough decisions necessary to improve educational effectiveness. NCLB passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support six years ago. What have we learned since the law began our path toward a national commitment to accountability for improving the academic performance of all children?

Discussion:

• Moderator: Ron Brownstein, Atlantic Monthly
• Kati Haycock, President, The Education Trust
• John Deasy, Superintendent, Prince George’s County Schools (MD)
• Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
• Beverly Hall, Superintendent, Atlanta Public Schools

Lunch: Keynote: Sir Michael Barber, Partner, McKinsey & Company and Former Chief Advisor to Prime Minister Tony Blair - 12:30-1:45 p.m.

Session Four: Are we aiming at the right target? Will students be prepared with current expectations? - 2:00-3:10 p.m.

Americans have long taken comfort in the belief that the U.S. education system is among the best in the world. However, the evidence shows that the rest of the world has caught, and in many cases, surpassed us in educational performance. This discussion will focus on the need to raise the level of expectations for K-12 students to ensure that they emerge from high school prepared for success in higher education and in the modern workplace. In particular, the session will focus on state efforts to work together to improve standards, proposals to create model national standards, as well as views from key leaders in higher education and the business community on the high costs of remediation and re-training.

Discussion:

• Moderator: David Bradley, Owner, Atlantic Media Company
• Vicki Phillips, Director, College Ready Initiative, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Gene Wilhoit, President, Council of Chief State School Officers
• Michael Ortiz, President, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
• William Green, Chairman & CEO, Accenture and Chairman Business Roundtable’s Education, Innovation and Workforce Initiative

Break - 3:10-3:25 p.m.

Session Five: Investing in the Enterprise: Could Public Education Make the Grade as a Capital Venture? - 3:25-4:30 p.m.

During this session the audience will be encouraged to take a fresh look at public education by imagining that the enterprise must do more than simply open its doors every year to attract students and public dollars. Now is the time to pursue bold reforms that will produce significant and sustainable gains in our educational performance at scale. Participants will propose innovative ways to better engage parents with information and options and more effectively use student performance data for accountability purposes and to better support teachers and school leaders.

Moderator: Katherine Bradley, President, CityBridge Foundation

Investor:  Ted Mitchell, CEO, NewSchools Venture Fund and President, California State Board of Education

Pitch Team:

• Michelle Rhee, Chancellor, District of Columbia Public Schools
• Michael Feinberg, Co-founder, KIPP Academy
• Jon Schnur, President, New Leaders for New Schools
• John Chubb, Managing Director Edison Learning Institute

Keynote Session: Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State - 4:35-5:05 p.m.

From Commitment to Action: Special Work Session/Audience Participation - 5:05-6:00 p.m.

Throughout the day, Summit participants will be challenged to work together to solidify a national commitment to key principles of education reform. This special interactive session will highlight the broad and growing consensus in support of those principles and establish a process for continued engagement of participants and other local, state and national leaders in creating an action plan to more effectively mobilize support for effective education reform.

• Summary of key elements of pre-summit input from participants and key points from the day
• Commitment to principles
• Statement of key summit leaders on next steps
• Announcement of action plan goals/timeline

Break/Networking - 5:50-6:30 p.m.

Cocktail Reception - 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Dinner & Keynote Speaker - 7:30-9:00 p.m.