Hosted by The Philanthropy Roundtable
Co-hosted by Legacy Venture and Philanthropy New York
September 12–13, 2012, New York City
Students, educators, and philanthropists have shown an enthusiastic appetite for digital learning. Yet education technology, with its potential to personalize learning, boost student achievement, and lower costs, is still seen by some as more fad than future. How can donors ensure technology is truly transformative in K–12 education?
Nearly 200 of America’s leading philanthropists and experts met for a candid conversation in the Big Apple to examine essential issues in K–12 blended learning, including the changing role of teachers in a digital classroom, lessons from early blended learning adopters, and strategies for building a city-wide blended learning movement.
Schedule of Events:
Wednesday, September 12 (Site Visit):
What does it take to start a high-performing blended learning school from scratch? Join donors from across the country as we visit Merit Prep Newark, Touchstone Education’s first charter school, during its third week of operation. Driven by an ambitious goal to reinvent secondary education in America and open 500 achievement-gap closing schools across the country, Touchstone founder and CEO Ben Rayer is building a new model for teaching and learning based on the best practices he developed as leader of a high performing Philadelphia CMO. He’s betting that the combination of a no-excuses school culture and technology-enabled personalized learning will dramatically improve the quality and efficiency of education for Merit Prep’s eventual cohort of 650 middle and high school students.
See first-hand how a high-potential school works through the challenges of a personalized learning model, including the effective use of real-time data and online curriculum. We’ll examine challenges that teachers, students, and parents face in adapting to this model; what impact technology is having on school culture; and how implementing blended learning has affected facilities and startup costs. What lessons can donors learn as they look to invest in technology-empowered education? How can high-expectations, inner-city schools be designed as distinctly 21st century models?
12:45 p.m. – Depart Roosevelt Hotel*
1:45 p.m. – Arrive at
Merit Prep Newark
A Touchstone Education School
909 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102
2:00 p.m. – Opening Address
- Cami Anderson, state district superintendent, Newark Public Schools
Welcome
- Ben Rayer, founder and chief executive officer, Touchstone Education
Student Learning Observation
3:00 p.m. – Panel: Launching an Inner-City Blended Learning School
- Michael Horn, executive director, Innosight Institute
- Ben Rayer, founder and chief executive officer, Touchstone Education
- Steve Schoettler, founder and CEO, Junyo
- Mashea Ashton, CEO, Newark Charter School Fund, (moderator)
4:15 p.m. – Depart
6:00 p.m. – Opening Reception at the Roosevelt Hotel
Note: Dinner is on one's own
*Note: Registration for this site visit is currently closed as we have reached our attendee capacity. If you would like your name to be added to our wait list please contact Cassandra McClellan.
Thursday, September 13 (Conference):
8:00 a.m. – Breakfast Table Discussions
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From Textbooks to Tablets: Lessons from Converting to Open Education Resources in Six Atlanta Middle Schools
– Paul Shivereck, president, Shelter Hill Foundation
– Mike Messner, trustee, Speedwell Foundation -
Reimagining Learning: How Philanthropy can Drive Innovative New Ideas
– Joel Rose, CEO, New Classrooms Innovation Partners -
Data Deluge? How to Make the Most of Student Performance Data
– Anthony Kim, CEO, Education Elements -
Digital Learning 101: What New Donors Need to Know
– Tom Vander Ark, author, Getting Smart: How Digital Learning is Changing the World -
It’s Personal(ized): Making the Move to Competency-Based Education
– Susan Patrick, president and CEO, iNACOL -
Thumbs Up: How Rating K-12 Content can Improve Digital Learning
– Elisabeth Stock, CEO and co-founder, Computers for Youth -
We Have Liftoff: the Future of Blended Learning
– John Danner, co-founder and CEO, Rocketship Education
9:00 a.m. – Welcome
- Adam Meyerson, president, The Philanthropy Roundtable
Opening Briefing
- Alex Hernandez, partner and vice president, Charter School Growth Fund
Can Smart Philanthropy and Digital Learning Transform K-12 Education?
- Frank Baxter, chairman emeritus, Jefferies & Company
- Scott Benson, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Tom Vander Ark, author, Getting Smart: How Digital Learning is Changing the World
- Brian Greenberg, CEO, Silicon Schools Fund (moderator)
10:15 a.m. – Networking break
10:30 a.m. – Briefings
-
Can Technology Reduce Operating Costs? Lessons from Faith-Based Schools
– Rachel Abrahams, program officer, AVI CHAI Foundation
– Scott Hamilton, managing partner, Seton Education Partners -
Blended Learning in Practice: Insights from Early Adopters
– Jay Altman, co-founder and CEO, FirstLine Schools
– Cheryl Niehaus, program officer, U.S. Education, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation -
Inside the iZone: How the Largest School District in America is Encouraging Innovation
– Stacey Gillett, deputy chief of innovation, New York City Department of Education
– Seth Schoenfeld, senior Director for policy, strategy, and accountability, Office of Innovation, New York City Department of Education -
Incubating Edu-preneurs: Accelerating the Next Big Ideas in Education
– Matt Candler, CEO, 4.0 Schools
– Heather Gilchrist, founding partner and program director, Socratic Labs
11:40 a.m. – Break
11:55 a.m. – Luncheon
Introduction
- Alan Marty, managing director, Legacy Venture
It’s On: How Technology Will (and Won’t) Change the Way We Learn
- Alex Hernandez, partner and vice president, Charter School Growth Fund
- John Katzman, founder and executive chairman, 2Tor
- Josh Reibel, CEO, Wireless Generation
- Chris Rush, co-founder and chief program officer, NewClassrooms Innovation Partners
- Gloria Lee, COO, NewSchools Venture Fund (moderator)
1:20 p.m. – Break
1:35 p.m. – Breakouts
Redefining Roles: How Will Blended Learning Change the Way Teachers Teach?
- Norman Atkins, founder and CEO, Relay Graduate School of Education
- Anthony Kim, CEO, Education Elements
- Rick Ogston, founder, Carpe Diem Academy
- Bryan Hassel, co-director, Public Impact (moderator)
Policy, PR, and Coordination: How Donors Can Help Create the Conditions that Enable High-Quality Blended Learning
- Scott Ellis, CEO, The Learning Accelerator
- Susan Patrick, president and CEO, iNACOL
- Bennet Ratcliff, founder, Ratcliff Strategies
- Joe Williams, executive director, Democrats for Education Reform
- Tony Lewis, executive director, Donnell-Kay Foundation (moderator)
2:35 p.m. – Break
2:50 p.m. – Closing Plenary
Our Town: How Can Blended Learning Jump-Start Citywide Education Transformation?
- Andrea Castenada, chief, Division of Accelerating School Performance, Rhode Island Department of Education
- Carrie Douglass, senior director, strategy & innovation, Rogers Family Foundation
- Ethan Gray, director, Cities for Education Entrepreneurship Trust
- Dave Levin, co-founder, KIPP, and superintendent, KIPP New York
- John Merrow, education correspondent, PBS NewsHour (moderator)
3:55 p.m. – Closing Remarks
- Anthony Pienta, deputy director of K-12 programs, The Philanthropy Roundtable
4:00 p.m. – Adjourn
Conference Location:
The Roosevelt Hotel
45 East 45th Street at Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
(888) 833-3969
For additional information about the content of this program, please contact Anthony Pienta, deputy director of K–12 programs, at apienta@philanthropyroundtable.org or at (202) 822-8333.
