PACE 2024 Annual Conference
Conference
Over the past year, key questions have emerged about California’s public education system as schools, districts, and institutions of higher education face substantial challenges:
- How do we engage students and improve their outcomes, especially for our state’s most vulnerable children and youth?
- How do we productively engage communities and diverse stakeholders to improve education?
- How do we balance state vs. local control in navigating the current challenges?
- How do we take advantage of new technologies and opportunities to transform our education systems?
At this critical juncture, we are bringing together over 250 California policymakers, researchers, and education leaders to address these questions, while taking stock of our education system at this point in pandemic recovery. The conference will share research insights about transformative actions that can drive improvement at all levels of the system—from early childhood through higher education.
Highlights
- Keynote address by Tyrone Howard, Pritzker Family Endowed Chair, School of Education & Information Studies; Director, Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families; and Co-Faculty Director, Center for the Transformation of Schools at the University of California, Los Angeles | President, American Educational Research Association
- Analysis of what we know about student learning and well-being, the status of the educator workforce, and progress toward system transformation at this point in pandemic recovery
- Breakouts on:
- The transformative power of generative AI in education
- Addressing the challenge of post-pandemic district leadership
- Building systems to support high quality teaching and learning
- Improving student attendance and engagement
- Leveraging state investments for high school transformation
- Strengthening coherence and impact in early learning
- A consideration of the arguments in balancing state and local control in education by the Leland High School debate team from San José Unified School District
Agenda
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast and Registration
9:00 – 9:10 a.m.
Welcome
- Heather Hough | Executive Director, PACE, Stanford University
9:10 – 10:00 a.m.
Opening Plenary — State of the System
- Joseph Bishop | Executive Director, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools
- Edgar Cabral | Deputy Legislative Analyst—K-12 Education, California Legislative Analyst's Office
- Carl Cohn | Professor Emeritus, Claremont Graduate University School of Educational Studies
- Lucrecia Santibañez | Co-Faculty Director, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools; Professor of Education, UCLA School of Education & Information
Electronic resources: slides, Policy brief: California Test Scores Show Little Improvement After Pandemic, Commentary: Chronic Absenteeism Post-Pandemic, Commentary: Why Aren’t Students Showing Up for School?, Commentary: School boards in Chino and Temecula raise worries about local control, Brief: When the Lights are Turned On: Documenting the Impact of COVID on California’s Education Landscape, Report: Overview of the Governor’s 2024-25 Budget (LAO), Education Specific Budget Tables, 2024-25
10:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Break / Transition
10:15 – 11:45 a.m.
Breakout #1 (choose one)
Breakout #1a
Galleria
Building Systems to Support High Quality Teaching and Learning
Moderator: Heather Hough | Executive Director, PACE, Stanford University
- Benjamin W. Cottingham | Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships, PACE, Stanford University
- Adalberto Hernandez | Principal, George Washington Elementary School
- Gustavo Morales | Director, California Labor Management Initiative
Electronic resources: slides, Report: What Does It Take to Accelerate the Learning of Every Child?, Podcast: Rising from the Margins - Madera Unified School District, Policy Brief: California Test Scores Show Little Improvement After Pandemic
Breakout #1b
East Meeting Room
Addressing the Challenge of Postpandemic District Leadership
Moderator: Julie Marsh | Faculty Director, PACE and Professor of Education Policy, USC Rossier School of Education
- Carl Cohn | Professor Emeritus, Claremont Graduate University School of Educational Studies
- Jennifer Perry Cheatham | Senior Lecturer and Co-chair of the Public Education Leadership Project, Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Rachel S. White | Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Tennessee
Electronic resources: slides, Article: Public Schools as Contested Places, Note on Racial Equity in School Systems, Infographic: U.S. Superintendent Attrition
Breakout #1c
West Meeting Room
The Transformative Power of Generative AI in Education
Moderator: Alix Gallagher | Director, Strategic Partnerships, PACE, Stanford University
- Jerry Almendarez | Superintendent, Santa Ana Unified School District; Board member, CORE Districts
- Chris Piech | Assistant Professor of Computer Science Education, Stanford University
- Pam Vachatimanont | Director, Partnerships & Operations, Code.org
Electronic resources: slides, Guide: AI Policy Guidance for Schools: A TeachAI Toolkit, Commentary: From Reactive to Proactive: Putting Districts in the AI Driver’s Seat, Commentary: The Urgent Need to Update District Policies on Student Use of Artificial Intelligence in Education, Guidance: Learning With AI, Learning About AI, Checklist: Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) AI Ready Checklist, Guidance: UNESCO AI in Education: Guidance for Policy Makers, Report: Office of Educational Technology: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch
12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
Galleria
Keynote Address
Tyrone Howard, Associate Dean and Professor of Education, UCLA School of Education & Information Studies and President, American Education Research Association (AERA)
Electronic resources: slides
1:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Break / Transition
1:15 – 2:45 p.m.
Breakout #2 (choose one)
Breakout #2a
Galleria
Improving Student Attendance and Engagement
Moderator: Jeannie Myung | Director of Policy Research, PACE, Stanford University
- James Bridgeforth | Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Community Schools Learning Exchange
- Hedy Chang | Executive Director, Attendance Works
- Jessica Gunderson | Co-Chief Executive Officer, Partnership for Children and Youth
Electronic resources: slides, Commentary: Why Aren’t Students Showing Up for School?, Article: All Hands on Deck: Today’s Chronic Absenteeism Requires A Comprehensive District Response and Strategy. Article: Aligning student-centered systems and structures through community schools, Report: How California educators met the moment with re-engagement, reconnection, and reimagined learning
Breakout #2b
East Meeting Room
Leveraging State Investments for High School Transformation
Moderator: Sherrie Reed | Executive Director, California Education Lab, University of California, Davis
- Roneeta Guha | Principal, Education First
- Alexandria Hurtt | Research Fellow, California Education Lab, University of California, Davis
- Michal Kurlaender | Faculty Director, PACE and Professor of Education Policy, University of California, Davis
- Mark LeNoir | Assistant Superintendent, Val Verde Unified School District
Electronic Resources: slides, Report: Inequality in Academic Preparation for College, Guide: A-G Resource Guide, Infographic: Career Technical Education Among California High School Graduates, Infographic: 12th-Grade Math: An Updated Look at High School Math Course-Taking in California
Breakout #2c
West Meeting Room
Improvement and Innovation in Early Learning
Moderator: Benjamin W. Cottingham | Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships, PACE, Stanford University
- Alix Gallagher | Director, Strategic Partnerships, PACE, Stanford University
- Stephanie Kloos | Executive Director of Elementary Education, San Rafael City Schools
- Cresta McIntosh | Associate Superintendent of Educational Services, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District
Electronic resources: slides, Commentary: Unlocking the Potential of Transitional Kindergarten Requires Better Data on Early Education, Policy Brief: California’s Major Investment in Universal Transitional Kindergarten, Report: Promising Practices for Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten: How California Districts Create Access and Coherent Systems, CCSSO K2 Assessments: An Update on State Adoption and Implementation
2:45 – 3:00 p.m.
Break / Transition
3:00 – 3:55 p.m.
Closing Plenary – Balancing State and Local Control in Education
Debaters: Leland High School Debate Team, San José Unified School District: Claire Chen; Aralyn Connolly; Ameya Kiwalkar; Allen Liu; Steven Rapp; Kiana Shah
With expert panelists: Brooks Allen | Executive Director, California State Board of Education and Education Policy Advisor, Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom; Samantha Tran | Founder and Executive Director, California Policy Collaborative
3:55 – 4:00 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Heather Hough | Executive Director, PACE, Stanford University
Event inquiries: events@edpolicyinca.org | Media requests: press@edpolicyinca.org