NEA NBCT Washington State Policy Summit

The recent NEA NBCT Washington State Policy Summit was simply incredible. It was evident in every way that this group strives for excellence.

More
than 200 National Board Certified Teachers gathered in Seattle Oct. 21
to craft policy recommendations that would ensure students in
high-needs schools have access to our most-accomplished teachers.

About
225 National Board teachers, plus about 75 representatives of
supporting organizations, attended the one-day policy summit.

Washington’s gathering was the fourth state summit of board-certified teachers I have helped put together.

"The
summit was historic in that it put National Board Certified Teachers in
the role of ‘policymakers for the day,’ noted Jim Meadows, WEA’s
National Board certification expert. "NBCTs provided many
recommendations that, if implemented systematically, could help enhance
student learning in high-needs schools."

My Role
Serving as a consultant for the Center for Teaching Quality and the NEA, my role with each of these state summits has been to virtually train (in Elluminate) the hand selected National Board certified teachers to be facilitators of breakout sessions that  use a  well defined process to  produce  well crafted policy recommendations that are then shared with policy makers in  an afternoon session.

The Facilitators
Washington’s facilitators were outstanding. They took participants through each stage of the breakout process with such professionalism. The comments and ideas that were generated will certainly bring value added to educational reform initiatives around staffing and supporting high needs schools across the state.

If you would like to see other pictures from the summit please check out the flickr photo stream.

These are the facilitators for Washington State’s Policy Summit

Bruce Becker
Christina Carlson
Rita Chaudhuri
Frank Dellino
Kristin Edlund
Carolyn Fragner
Karen Hatley
Sandra Hoffman
Kim McClung
Beth McGibbon
Dora Noble
Dennis O’Conner
Miki Paulson
Cindy Rockholt
Becky Schmuck
Nancy Shimeall
Diana Stray
Sara Van Donge
Sue White
Tom White
Lisa Wison
David Wright

The Agenda
The day begain with a welcome from Rita Chaudhuri, NBCT Tacoma
and the Convener Welcoming was given by–
Terry
Bergeson, State Superintendent and Charles Hasse, WEA

I got to spend some time with Terry  Bergeson and was so impressed. The stories that were told about her life as a teacher leader and the inroads she has made on behalf of children made her standout as a role model in my mind.

The Keynote Address was given by Eric Liu, Washington Learns/Guiding Lights Network/State Board of Education
and was absolutely awesome. I grabbed two clips for you and uploaded to YouTube. I will embed them here… they were taken with my digital camera so video isnt that great, but audio is perfect.

Interactive Session Highlights

One of the highlights of the day was an interactive polling session led by:

Barnett Berry,
Center for Teaching Quality
Ana Elfers, University of Washington
Tom Charouhas, NBCT
Anne Walker, NBCT

Facilitated Process
It has been very satisfying watching breakout process work in four states now as a strategy for bringing NBCTs together and in under two hours resulting in several well crafted policy recommendations.

Break Out Topics

Leading from the Classroom: Fostering Teacher Leadership in High-Needs Schools:

Incentives for Teaching: Monetary and Non-Financial Rewards for Teaching in High-Needs Schools:

Growing Our Own: Developing National Board Certified Teachers in High-Needs Schools:

Recruiting and Supporting Teachers of Color into National Board Certification and into High-Needs Schools:

Diversifying the Teaching Force: Attracting, Recruiting and Supporting Future Generations of Diverse Teachers:

Building Collaborative Cultures: Opportunities to Think, Plan and Learn:

Cultural Competence: The Knowledge, Skills and Support Needed to Effectively Teach Students in High-Needs Schools:

Professional Development: Career-long Opportunities for Teaching, Learning and Growth in High-Needs Schools:

Mentoring and Induction: Comprehensive Support Systems for New Teachers in High-Needs Schools:

Conditions and Strategies for Closing the Achievement Gaps: Roles for NBCTs

Lunch

During lunch keyleaders shared. A National Perspectives
from National Partners

Kevin Teeley, NBPTS
Board Member & WEA Executive Board Member

Joseph Aguerrebere, President,
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Segun Eubanks, National
Education Association

Lunch and all the food and snacks were outstanding! Washington really knows how to throw a summit! Dessert was a special treat!

Presentation of NBCT Summit Recommendations

The recommendations that were crafted through the breakout sessions were presented by the following NBCTs.

Richelle Ward, NBCT
Lori Fujimoto, NBCT
Debra Blodgett-Goins, NBCT

 Legislative Panel
Policy Conversation

Representative Glenn Anderson, House Education Committee Member
Ann Daley, Executive Director, Washington Learns
Roger
Erskine, Professional Educator Standards Board
Senator Rosemary McAuliffe, Senate Early Learning, K-12, and Higher Education Chair
Representative Dave Quall, House Education Chair

The conversation was lively between NBCTs and the policy makers. Challenges were given and accepted. The recommendations that were shared will be shared soon on the WEA Web page.

The next summit is in Ohio. See you there!