• Keynote Presentation
• Day 1 – Tuesday, September 18
• Day 2 – Wednesday, September 19
• NDTAC Poster Sessions
• Technical Assistance Centers' Poster Sessions

Keynote Presentation

Measuring Conditions for Learning
David Osher, NDTAC

The four conditions for learning-safety, support, social-emotional learning, and challenge-were identified, defined, and exemplified by work being done in districts such as Chicago Public Schools. This presentation provided insight into how data can and should be used to evaluate practices that support a positive learning environment. The presentation built upon a previous Webinar, also by Dr. Osher, that provided an introduction to the concept of conditions for learning.

Tuesday, September 18

What We Know: Data So Far, Data Snapshots, and Data Quality
Natalia Pane and Tal Kerem, NDTAC

This session touched on many interrelated topics, including data collection, data quality, performance indicators, and the Federal performance review process (e.g., PART and GPRA). In particular, the session addressed ways in which data from the local and State levels can impact the program's Federal performance score. The presentation contains an overview of the National Title I, Part D program based on data from school year (SY) 2004-05 to SY 2005-06 and State-by-State comparisons on performance, progress, and data quality.

Exercise Your Data Brain!
Liz Williams, NDTAC

This hands-on activity encouraged participants to rethink how they interpret and use data. Participants were first presented graphical representations of data, including student achievement, educational costs, and demographics for multiple sites. Groups of participants made inferences about each graph. Next, the groups were assigned specific sites and asked to "tell the story" of the site based on the multiple data elements.

Report Cards: The Basics and Getting Started
Natalia Pane and Patrick Kelly, NDTAC

To help administrators better use and understand their own data on youth who are neglected or delinquent, NDTAC designed a Report Card tool. The tool allows administrators to put together a concise presentation of data and other information about their State, or a school or program within their State. These report cards can be used to 1) increase accountability, 2) improve data and program quality, and 3) inform and educate other stakeholders.

This presentation provided a general overview of the Report Cards, why they are important, and how they can be used. It highlighted the main steps ND Coordinators will want to consider when creating their report cards, such as defining its purpose and identifying its audience. More specifically, the presentation focused on how State and local programs can use report cards to depict student and organizational performance, highlighting their importance and various uses. Two customizable report card templates were provided to participants, one that compares State data to national data and another that compares program data to State data, along with hands-on instruction on how to use them. The User's Guide and Cheat Sheet provide supplemental instructions on how to use each template.

Data Requirements and Federal Collections
Bobbi Stettner-Easton, U.S. Department of Education

This presentation depicted the relationship between data collected through EDFacts and the Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR). In addition, the SY 2006-07 data reporting schedule was presented.

Wednesday, September 19

State-Level Promising Practices
Dottie Wodraska, Arizona Supreme Court; Joyce L. Burrell, Deputy Commissioner, New York State Office of Children and Family Service; Leslie Brock, NDTAC

Dottie Wodraska first spoke about the journey to accreditation for the Arizona juvenile detention schools. This journey, which was initiated to not only meet but surpass NCLB requirements, became a three-year process to transform the education of youth in detention facilities. The result of accreditation in these schools is quality assurance that the education provided in Arizona juvenile detention schools is meeting or exceeding established standards, guaranteed to be evaluated, and has a continuous improvement process is in place.

Joyce L. Burrell continued the discussion by presenting overall promising practices in juvenile justice education, based on her wealth of knowledge and experience in the field. Ms. Burrell's talk included the "whats" and "whys" of communicating among juvenile justice stakeholders, the importance of coordination, and key areas on which to focus in correctional education.

Leslie Brock concluded the panel with her presentation about current statewide systems. She began by discussing how consistent systems within a state can facilitate comparisons among the ND population, the evaluation of outcomes, the transferring of records, and aggregating data. She then provided examples of some systems states currently have for testing, transferring records, and transferring high school credits. Ms. Brock ended her presentation by asking participants to discuss the statewide systems they currently have in place or would like to see put in place.

ND Communities: An Introduction
Natalie Keegan and Nicholas Read, NDTAC; Mary Russman, New York ND Coordinator

This presentation introduced the ND Communities initiative, which will provide an opportunity for all Title I, Part D program Coordinators to work in groups, or ND Communities, to discuss and problem-solve issues they are experiencing or have experienced. During this session, presenters described the purpose of the initiative, the pilot ND Community's experience, how the communities are structured, and the plan for the year. In each respective ND Community, participants then discussed issues they were currently facing, and identified a time and topic they would discuss during their first conference call. Visit the Events page for more information about your community's activity.

Part D Information Session: Counts and Part D Formulas
Sandy Brown, U.S. Department of Education

As the Title I allocations/fiscal expert, Paul "Sandy" Brown provided a general overview of the Title 1, Part D law. He went through the differences in Subpart 1 and Subpart 2 allocations, how those funds can and should be used, and he described how Subpart 3 of the statute requires that State agencies and local education agencies evaluate their progress at least once every 3 years. After presenting, a lively interactive Q&A session was held during which participants were able to ask Sandy about various parts of the law to clarify ambiguous or unclear aspects of the Title 1, Part D statute.

NDTAC Poster Sessions

During the first two mornings of the conference, NDTAC displayed five posters on a variety of relevant topics.

Title I, Part D Data Quality
Tal Kerem, NDTAC

Tal described NDTAC efforts to improve the quality of data collected as part of the Annual Count and reporting (CSPR), the Federal context in which these changes are occurring, and what States and grantees can do to facilitate change.

Students Highly at Risk of Dropping Out: Returning to School After Incarceration
Leslie Brock, NDTAC

Because students returning to school after being incarcerated are at an especially high risk of dropping out of school, Leslie presented ideas on how the ND community can promote successful transitions.

Educating Youth in Adult Corrections
Nicholas Read, NDTAC

After presenting the benefits of educating youth and adults while in correctional facilities, Nick encouraged States to recruit and retain incarcerated youth who are not currently participating in educational programming and to provide all incarcerated youth a comprehensive program of instruction.

Disproportionality in the Juvenile Justice System
DeAngela Milligan, NDTAC

DeAngela described the pervasive overrepresentation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system, also known as disproportionate minority contact (DMC), and presented DMC reduction strategies States and grantees can use to address it.

Mental Health in the Juvenile Justice System
Patrick Kelly, NDTAC

Stressing the importance of understanding the impact of mental health issues on students who are neglected or delinquent, Patrick described a number of resources available to address them.

Technical Assistance Center Poster Sessions

On the final day of the conference, NDTAC invited several of the other technical assistance centers housed at AIR to present poster sessions. The centers provided an overview of the services and resources they offer that may be of use and/or interest to Title I, Part D Coordinators. The centers also noted possible collaborations with NDTAC to meet the current and future TA needs of the coordinators. The centers that presented include:

• Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health (TA Partnership)
• Access Center
• Center for Implementing Technology in Education (CITEd)
• National High School Center (NHSC)

 

 

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