The Alliance for Excellent Education is pleased to announce that it will be holding an online forum highlighting successful practices in middle and high school education with online/blended learning and technology. This forum will offer an opportunity for policymakers, educators, researchers, advocates, the media, and others to learn about promising practices that prepare all students for college and work. The forum will feature schools, districts, and states that are effectively using online/blended learning and technology to raise student outcomes.
Speaker proposals for the 2010 Innovation and Excellence: Spotlight on High Schools, Online/Blended Learning, and Technology forum are now being accepted and reviewed according to relevance, effectiveness, and policy implications as described below.
* Relevance. Proposals that include the innovative use of online/blended learning and/or technology to drive or support middle and high school reform that ensures students are college and work ready are welcome, including those at the school, district, or state levels. However, of particular interest are success stories related to the innovative use of online/blended learning and/or technology that facilitates one or more of the following:
- overall school reform efforts that have transformed the school culture and student outcomes;
- improved teacher effectiveness and teacher distribution in low-performing high schools;
- increased access to remedial and enrichment courses, including those that are difficult to offer in tough budget times;
- efforts to increase interest and postsecondary participation in STEM fields;
- improved home and school access to teachers, students, experts, virtual tutoring, and digital content;
- improved outcomes for over-age and under-credited students;
- use of multiple pathways to graduate students ready for college and work, including education in alternative settings or variations on a typical school day; and
- data-driven decision making for personalized learning, including the use of data systems to prevent dropouts, identify students for intervention, and guide instructional improvement.
Also of interest are schools and/or districts, particularly those in rural and urban areas, that have beaten the odds of high-poverty, high-minority, and high-achieving demographics.
* Effectiveness. Proposals should specify how the highlighted program has increased student achievement, graduation rates, and college- and work-readiness rates. Also of interest are programs that show evidence of increased attendance, decreased discipline problems, improved teaching skills, equitable teacher distribution, and improved leadership and school climate. Quantitative data is best, though qualitative data is also useful.
* Policy Implications. Proposals should explain how the presenters plan to illustrate lessons learned from their work, and it should discuss the implementation, sustainability, and scalability of the program, as well as implications for school, district, state, and/or national education policy.
Proposals not focused on secondary level initiatives that promote college and work readiness will not be considered. Submitting a proposal may also lead to additional opportunities to highlight your school, district, or state in other Alliance for Excellent Education efforts. Please submit a one- to two-page proposal addressing the above criteria to digitallearning@all4ed.org by Monday, November 1, 2010, with the subject line “Innovation Series.” The Alliance will cover travel-related expenses for one presenter. If you have questions, contact Chip Slaven using the email address above or by phone at (202) 828-0828. Selections and a date for the first forum will be announced shortly after the submission deadline. If your proposal is chosen, the Alliance for Excellent Education will contact you directly.