Implementing the Common Core in California
California adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in August 2010, and state and local leaders are now fully engaged in the implementation process. Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) has organized this conference to review the current state of CCSS implementation in California, what we have learned, and what challenges we will have to face as we move forward.
The conference will feature presentations from state officials who are guiding the implementation effort from Sacramento, local leaders who are wrestling with the challenge of implementing CCSS in their schools and classrooms, and researchers who are monitoring the progress of CCSS in schools and districts across California.
Presentations will be organized around two main questions:
- How are local educators managing the challenge of CCSS implementation in association with the implementation of LCFF and the development of LCAPs?
- Is CCSS implementation on track to deliver the kinds of improved instruction and deeper learning that were promised when the new standards were adopted?
The conference program will include representatives from the California Department of Education, the State Board of Education, the Legislature, the California Teachers Association, and the California Charter Schools Association, along with administrators and teacher leaders from selected school districts and County Offices of Education.
The program will also feature preliminary research findings from studies of CCSS implementation conducted by PACE, the California Collaborative for District Reform, the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy, Education Trust-West, and others.
Financial support for this conference has been provided by the California Education Policy Fund, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Tom Torlakson, Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education, opening remarks on Implementing the Common Core in California: Reports from the Field
California State Perspectives on Common Core State Standards Implementation:
Barbara Murchison - Education Administrator, California Department of Education
Paula Carroll - Senior Assessment Fellow, California Department of Education
Nancy Brownell - Senior Fellow, California State Board of Education and the California Department of Education
Rick Simpson - Deputy Chief of Staff, California Assembly Speaker's Office
Erin Gabel - Senior Consultant, California Senate Pro Tem's Office
Moderator: John Fensterwald - Editor, EdSource Today
Common Core State Standards and Local Control Funding Formula: Strategies and Challenges:
Arun Ramanathan, CEO, Pivot Learning Partners
Carrie Hahnel, Director of Research & Policy Analysis, The Education Trust-West
John Affeldt, Managing Attorney, Public Advocates
Dave Gordon, Superintendent, Sacramento County Office of Education
Shannan Brown, Member, California Teachers Association
Rick Miller, Executive Director, California Office to Reform Education
Moderator: David Plank, Executive Director, PACE
Public Opinion on CCSS: The 2014 PACE/Rossier Poll:
Julie Marsh, PACE/Associate Professor of Education, USC Rossier School of Education
Can Common Core State Standards transform teaching and learning?:
Milbrey McLaughlin, Professor Emeritus of Education & Public Policy, Stanford University
Joel Knudson, Deputy Project Director, California Collaborative on District Reform
Andrea Venezia, Associate Director, Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy
Elise Darwish, Chief Academic Officer, Aspire Public Schools
Shannan Brown, Member, California Teachers Association
Helio Brasil, Superintendent, Merced River School District
Moderator: Charles Kerchner, Education Week blog "On California"
Resources 2020 Vision: Rethinking Budget Priorities Under the LCFF Implementing Common Core State Standards in California: A Report from the Field Designing, Leading and Managing the Transition to the Common Core: A Strategy Guidebook for Leaders Getting to the Core: How Early Implementers are Approaching the Common Core in California