Past Events

Jan
25
2024
Revitalizing Public Education in California: Navigating Challenges, Seizing Opportunities
Topic
The PACE Annual Conference in January 2024 will bring together California policymakers, researchers, and education leaders to address critical questions about the state's public education system and explore transformative actions for improvement at all levels, from early childhood through higher education.
Feb
3
2023
40 Years of Evidence and Impact
Topic

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.

Feb
9
2021
A Foundation for Reimagining and Rebuilding
Topic
Districts across California are working on three discrete but related challenges as they address the impacts of COVID-19 on teaching on learning: 1) What do we do now to support student learning before school year ends; 2) What can we do in the Summer to mitigate the disparate impact of distance learning; and 3) What should we be designing for the Fall to best meet the needs of students, teachers and families. Expanded learning providers are critical partners for all three challenges.
Jul
28
2020
Aligning Systems to Support the Whole Child
Topic

This webinar will present findings from two forthcoming publications on community schools: the PACE brief “Community Schools: A Coronavirus Recovery Strategy;” and “Creating Strong Community Schools: The Role of California Counties in Providing Technical Assistance” by the Learning Policy Institute. The webinar will also feature perspectives from leaders at the school and county levels who will speak to what it takes to launch and sustain community schools.

Mar
5
2020
PACE Series on Special Education 2
Topic
This webinar was the second in a three-part webinar series on special education featuring new research on the status of special education in California and paths forward for organizing schools to better support students with disabilities. This webinar covered Universally Designed Teaching, Teacher Preparation, Teacher Shortages, and Teacher Development.
Apr
15
2019
63rd Annual Meeting of the Comparative Education Society
Topic

Education experts from PACE, LPI, and Opportunity Institute present a Plenary Session introducing CA’s education system to education scholars and leaders from countries around the world. They will discuss the historical roots of the many challenges facing CA’s schools and teachers, promising changes in the state’s education policy framework, and ongoing concerns about whether new policies will lead to meaningful improvements in the education policy framework, and ongoing concerns about whether new policies will lead to meaningful improvements in the education provided to CA students.

Mar
11
2016
Topic

The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd is conducting research on the experiences of California teachers as they implement the new CA Standards. As a part of this work, the Center is conducting a series of focus groups to give voice to teachers in the process of implementation. In this seminar, Robert Sheffield will present findings from the first round of focus groups. In his discussion, he will offer an analysis of how the findings fit within the policy context defined by CA's new funding and accountability systems, and will present recommendations for policy leaders.

Feb
3
2014
Topic
School districts across California have begun working to implement the Common Core State Standards and to prepare for California’s new assessments. Policy Analysis for California Education and California County Superintendents Educational Services Association are pleased to sponsor six regional leadership sessions on CCSS Systems Implementation . These meetings will introduce you to a variety of strategies, tools and resources that your district can use to support successful implementation of the CCSS.
Oct
18
2013
The Bumpy Path to a Profession
Topic

California’s teacher policies do not match the actual career trajectory that most new teachers follow. In this seminar, Julia Koppich and Dan Humphrey will present results from a 2013 study of California’s state policy system designed to shape beginning teachers’ careers, including induction, clear credentialing evaluation, and tenure. They will discuss several areas in which California policymakers need to reexamine the system in order to ensure that it paves the way for ensuring beginning teachers’ success in the classroom.

Feb
15
2013
The Role of Compensation in Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Topic

Research consistently shows teacher quality is a powerful determinant of student achievement gains, yet urban school districts often struggle to staff schools with qualified teachers. In this seminar, Susanna Loeb explores changes in teacher recruitment in one urban school district as a result of a salary increase. Studying a policy in SFUSD, Loeb finds a differential salary increase can improve a school district’s attractiveness within the local teacher labor market and increase both the size and quality of teacher applicant pools, having the potential to increase the quality of new-hires.

Feb
2
2012
Why Algebra Matters and How Technology Can Help
Topic

Learn about how promising digital tools and resources are now available to help you strengthen teaching and learning in middle grades mathematics, and the policy changes that California must make to take advantage of these new opportunities. In this seminar, policy leaders and experts in education technology will share and discuss what’s becoming possible with the proliferation of digital technologies in California schools.

Feb
18
2011
Structuring School District Discretion over Teacher Employment
Topic

Although there is broad agreement that teacher quality is related to student achievement, there is far less agreement about the degree to which school districts and administrators are constrained in making policies that affect the employment and working conditions of teachers. In this seminar, William S. Koski discusses the extent to which California law and the collective bargaining agreements governed by state law, constrains or facilitates district-level discretion over teacher employment policies and practices.

Jan
12
2011
A Systems Approach to Improving Evaluation and Teacher/Principal Effectiveness
Topic

Pivot Learning Partners, Policy Analysis for California Education, and Full Circle Fund sponsored a one-day conference for school district teams with an interest in redesigning their teacher/principal evaluation systems in the larger context of strengthening teacher/principal effectiveness. In addition to listening to a panel of experts, team members had the opportunity to network with other district leaders from across the state.