PACE Event

PACE 2023 Annual Conference

40 Years of Evidence and Impact
PACE 40th Header - Celebrating 40 Years of Evidence and Impact

 

Conference

PACE’s 2023 conference marks many important milestones: our first in-person annual conference since the start of the pandemic, the 10-year anniversary of the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula, and the 40-year anniversary of PACE’s founding. As we mark these milestones, our public education system is facing a troubling set of challenges, including declining enrollment, staffing shortages, and polarized communities, along with devastating setbacks to student learning and well-being that have exposed long-standing systemic inequities in education and have revealed new gaps in opportunity and access. At the same time, unprecedented state and federal investments have presented an opportunity for a complete reimagining of our educational systems that places equity at the center.

At this critical juncture, we are bringing together nearly 300 California policymakers, researchers, and education leaders to take stock of our education system at this point in pandemic recovery, and present evidence-based approaches for accelerating student learning, transforming education systems, and improving equity at all levels of the system—from early childhood through higher education.

 

 

Highlights

  • A comprehensive review of research on the implementation and effectiveness of the Local Control Funding Formula as the policy enters its 10th year.
  • Taking stock of the state of the system: What do 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?
  • Analysis of the recent investments in early childhood education, community schools, and strengthening pathways to college; reviewing the research base underlying these approaches; and providing insight on implementation to date.
  • A deep dive on California’s English learner students, who have been particularly impacted by the pandemic, spotlighting newcomer students.
  • A commemoration of PACE’s impact since its founding in 1983, focusing on key success stories of evidence-based policymaking over the years.
     

Agenda

8:00 – 9:00 a.m.

Breakfast and Registration

9:00 – 9:15 a.m.
Galleria

40 Years of Evidence and Impact

Electronic resources: Slides, Video: PACE: 40 Years of Evidence and Impact (w/ captions)

9:15 – 10:15 a.m.
Galleria

Opening Plenary – State of the State

Moderated by: Christopher Edley, Jr., Faculty Director, PACE, Interim Dean of the Berkeley School of Education and the Honorable William H. Orrick, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law, Berkeley Law

  • Kevin Gee, Associate Professor, University of California, Davis School of Education, and Research Affiliate, UCD Center for Poverty and Inequality Research
  • Carrie Hahnel, Senior Policy and Research Fellow, PACE and Senior Associate Partner, Policy and Evaluation, Bellwether
  • Julie Marsh, Faculty Director, PACE and Professor of Education Policy, USC Rossier School of Education
  • Matt Navo, Executive Director, California Collaborative for Educational Excellence

Electronic resources: Slides, Report: PACE 2022 Voter Poll, Commentary: 2022 SBAC Scores

10:15 – 10:30 a.m.

Break and Transition

10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

Breakout #1 (choose one)

Breakout #1a
West Meeting Room

Building System Capacity for School Improvement and Learning Acceleration

Moderated by: Alix Gallagher, Director of Strategic Partnerships, PACE

  • Vicky Armstrong, Chief Academic Officer, Dinuba Unified School District
  • Benjamin W. Cottingham, Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships, PACE
  • Steve Kellner, Director of Program Sustainability and Growth, California Education Partners
  • Susanna Loeb, Professor of Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education

Electronic resources: Slides, Report: Generating Traction with Continuous Improvement, Report: Early Indicators of Systemic Improvement

Breakout #1b
Galleria

Strengthening Equity in College Access: The Role of High School Courses

Moderated by: Michal Kurlaender, Faculty Director, PACE and Professor of Education Policy, University of California, Davis

  • Troy Allen, Director of Secondary Education and Leadership, Davis Joint Unified School District
  • Fatima Ghatala, Dual Enrollment Specialist, Oakland Unified School District
  • Lisa Neeley, Vice President, Student Services, Solano Community College
  • Christopher Nellum, Executive Director, the Education Trust–West
  • Sherrie Reed, Executive Director, California Education Lab, University of California, Davis

Electronic resources: Slides, Infographic: Dual enrollment, Report: Math coursetaking, Report: The road to college

Breakout #1c
East Meeting Room

Improving Educational Approaches for English Learners and Newcomers

Moderated by: Jeannie Myung, Director of Policy Research, PACE

  • Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, Deputy Director, Californians Together
  • Sam Finn, Senior Policy Consultant, Newcomer Research and Development, Oakland Unified School District
  • Magaly Lavadenz, Leavey Presidential Endowed Chair in Moral and Ethical Leadership & Executive Director, Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL), LMU

Electronic resources: Slides; Brief: Newcomer Students’ English Language Development; Interactive Heat Map: CA Title III Immigrant Students

11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Galleria

Lunch and Plenary – 10 years of LCFF: Taking Stock and Looking to the Future

Moderated by: Samantha Tran, Executive Director, California Policy Collaborative

  • Brooks Allen, Executive Director, California State Board of Education and Education Policy Advisor, Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom
  • Daniel Humphrey, Independent Education Consultant
  • Rucker Johnson, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
  • Ted Lempert, President, Children Now and Advisory Board Member, PACE

Electronic resources: Slides, Publications: LCFF Research Collaborative

1:15 – 1:30 p.m.

Break and Transition

1:30 – 2:45 p.m.

Breakout #2 (choose one)

Breakout #2a
West Meeting Room

Preschool Expansion: A Focus on Quality, Alignment, and Sustainability

Moderated by: Alix Gallagher, Director of Strategic Partnerships, PACE

  • Phil Halperin, Co-Founder and the Executive Director, California Education Partners
  • Sarah Neville-Morgan, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, Opportunities for All Branch, California Department of Education
  • Deborah Stipek, Professor Emerita, Stanford Graduate School of Education

Electronic resources: Slides, Research briefs (PreK-12 is the new reality, Transitional kindergarten); workforce (California Golden State Pathways Program, PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential); implementation guidance (California Educators Together website); UPK Mixed Delivery resources (Planning grant, Workgroup webpage)

Breakout #2b
Galleria

Improving and Stabilizing the Teacher Workforce in California

Moderated by: Heather Hough, Executive Director, PACE

Electronic resources: Slides, Op-Ed: Diversifying CA’s educator workforce,  Report: Increasing the diversity of California’s educator workforce, Report: Building a more ethnoracially diverse teaching force, Article: The added value of Latinx and Black teachers, Report: California’s positive outliers, Report: Teacher shortages during the pandemic

Breakout #2c
East Meeting Room

Community Schools: Toward a Vision of High Quality Implementation at Scale

Moderated by: Jeannie Myung, Director of Policy Research, PACE

  • Kendra Fehrer, Director of Research and Organizational Learning, Community Schools Learning Exchange (CSLX)
  • Anna Meier, Senior Policy Advisor and Researcher, Learning Policy Institute
  • Ali Metzler, Community School Leadership Coordinator, Oakland Unified School District

Electronic resources: Slides, Resource: Essentials for Community School Transformation, Report: Community Schools as an Effective School Improvement Strategy, Resource: CCSPP Framework, Resource: CSLX Tools and Resources, Book: The Way We Do School

2:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Break and Transition

3:00 – 3:45 p.m.
Galleria

Plenary – Policymaking in California: Past, Present, and Future

Moderated by: Heather Hough, Executive Director, PACE

  • Linda Darling-Hammond, President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, President of the California State Board of Education, and Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus, Stanford Graduate School of Education
  • Michael W. Kirst, Cofounder, PACE, Former President of the California Board of Education, and Professor Emeritus of Education and Business Administration, Stanford University

Electronic resources: Essay: The Future of Standards-Based Reform, Press release: Is the “California Way” the Right Way?, Report: Lessons from state school finance reforms, Report: Funding teacher residencies

3:45 – 4:00 p.m.
Galleria

Closing remarks

4:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Foyer

Book Signing

  • Michael W. Kirst, Cofounder, PACE, Former President California Board of Education, and Professor Emeritus Education and Business Administration, Stanford University

Bring your copy of Michael Kirst: An Uncommon Academic for a special book signing after the event. Copies will also be available for purchase.

Speakers 

  • Brooks Allen | California State Board of Education and Education / Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom
  • Troy Allen | Director of Secondary Education and Leadership, Davis Joint Unified School District
  • Vicky Armstrong | Chief Academic Officer, Dinuba Unified School District
  • Travis Bristol | Associate Professor, Berkeley School of Education
  • Benjamin W. Cottingham | Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships, PACE
  • Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez | Deputy Director, Californians Together
  • Linda Darling-Hammond | President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, President of the California State Board of Education, and Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus, Stanford Graduate School of Education
  • Christopher Edley, Jr. | Faculty Director, PACE, Interim Dean of the Berkeley School of Education and the Honorable William H. Orrick, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law, Berkeley Law
  • Kendra Fehrer | Director of Research and Organizational Learning, CSLX
  • Sam Finn | Senior Policy Consultant, Newcomer Research and Development, Oakland Unified School District
  • Alix Gallagher | Director, Strategic Partnerships, PACE
  • Kevin Gee | Associate Professor, UC Davis School of Education, and Research Affiliate, UCD Center for Poverty Research
  • Fatima Ghatala | Dual Enrollment Specialist, Oakland Unified School District
  • Roneeta Guha | Principal, Education First
  • Carrie Hahnel | Senior Policy and Research Fellow, PACE and Senior Associate Partner, Policy and Evaluation, Bellwether
  • Phil Halperin | Co-Founder and the Executive Director, California Education Partners
  • Heather Hough | Executive Director, PACE
  • Daniel Humphrey | Independent Education Consultant
  • Rucker Johnson | Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
  • Steve Kellner | Director of Program Sustainability and Growth, California Education Partners
  • Michael W. Kirst | Cofounder, PACE, Former President of the California Board of Education, and Professor Emeritus of Education and Business Administration, Stanford University
  • Michal Kurlaender | Faculty Director, PACE and Professor of Education Policy, University of California, Davis
  • Magaly Lavadenz | Distinguished Professor and founding Executive Director of the Center for Equity for English Learners, LMU School of Education
  • Ted Lempert | President, Children Now and Advisory Board Member, PACE
  • Susanna Loeb |  Professor of Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education
  • Melanie Leung-Gagné | Research and Policy Associate, Learning Policy Institute
  • Julie Marsh | Faculty Director, PACE and Professor of Education Policy, USC Rossier School of Education
  • Anna Meier | Senior Policy Advisor and Researcher, Learning Policy Institute
  • Ali Metzler | Community School Leadership Coordinator, Oakland Unified School District
  • Jeannie Myung | Director of Policy Research, PACE
  • Matt Navo | Executive Director, California Collaborative for Educational Excellence
  • Lisa Neeley | Vice President, Student Services, Solano Community College
  • Christopher Nellum | Executive Director, Education Trust–West
  • Sarah Neville-Morgan | Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, Opportunities for All Branch, California Department of Education
  • Sherrie Reed | Executive Director, California Education Lab, University of California, Davis
  • Mary Vixie Sandy | Executive Director, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
  • Deborah Stipek | Professor Emerita, Stanford Graduate School of Education
  • Samantha Tran | Executive Director, California Policy Collaborative

Event inquiries: info@edpolicyinca.org | Media requests: press@edpolicyinca.org

Health and safety guidelines

For this event, PACE will utilize the policies of the Sacramento Public Library, which follow current state and local guidelines. While subject to change with conditions, this currently includes:

  1. Remaining home if you are feeling any symptoms of illness, including cough, runny nose, headache, sore throat, or fatigue; have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days, or have had close contact with anyone who is confirmed or is suspected of having COVID-19. Although we will not be live streaming or filming this event, presentations and materials will be shared online following the event.
  2. Masking, which is optional but recommended.
  3. Washing your hands and sanitizing regularly.