June 11, 2008

National symposium yields perspectives on how SEAs can catalyze and support district improvement

The Education Alliance is pleased to announce the publication of a symposium report that yields insights around the challenges state education agencies face and provides recommendations by educational leaders regarding how to more effectively catalyze and support district improvement.

How Can State Education Agencies Support District Improvement?: A Conversation Amongst Educational Leaders, Researchers, and Policy Actors is the report of a symposium held in the summer of 2007 by The Education Alliance and The Urban Education Policy Program. The symposium convened over fifty state education leaders, superintendents and district leaders, researchers, and other educational actors to collectively consider the challenges and possibilities of state education agencies to catalyze and support district improvement.

More than a traditional proceedings document, this report contains a detailed analysis of the themes and ideas that were generated by participants, including key areas of agreement among participants, considerations of promise, and points of distinction. The cross-stakeholder discussions resulted in the identification of multiple strategies that can be utilized by state education agencies to leverage their capacity and provide meaningful support to districts and schools. In addition, the participants had the opportunity to identify the organizational, educational, and political conditions that might be needed to catalyze significant improvement throughout our educational system.

Full Symposium Report and Synthesis
Executive Summary