HAWAII SCHOOL EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE
Hawaii First Lady-elect Dawn Ige Will Address The Group
- WHO: Education Institute of Hawaii
- WHAT: Public Conference on Hawaii School Empowerment
- WHEN: Friday, Nov. 28 (8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) and Saturday, Nov. 29 (8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.)
- WHERE: Moanalua High School
DETAILS: The media and public are invited to take part in the Hawaii School Empowerment Conference, sponsored by the newly formed Education Institute of Hawaii (EIH), an education think tank dedicated to improving the system of public education in Hawaii. First Lady-elect Dawn Ige will speak on Friday from 8:10 to 8:30 a.m.
A delegation of 27 educators from Hawaii visited four school systems on the mainland last month. Representatives from those systems will speak and participate in discussion groups at the conference, along with members of Hawaii’s travel delegation.
Also participating in the conference are Hawaii school principals, vice principals, teachers, complex area superintendents, central office administrators, school board members, legislators and members of the public.
REGISTRATION: Register online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/empowerment2014
(See attached conference schedule for list of speakers and times they will speak. Additional information about the conference and the Education Institute of Hawaii can be found at http://www.edthinktankhawaii.org.)
LINKS: EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE RESOURCES
PDF: Conference Schedule
Related: Punahou Thanks David Ige for His Financial Contributions
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PUBLIC INVITED TO FREE CONFERENCE ON SCHOOL EMPOWERMENT
International Experts and Local Decision Makers to Consider Ways to Change Hawaii’s DOE into a School-Centered System
News Release from http://www.edthinktankhawaii.org
HONOLULU – The Education Institute of Hawaii (EIH) is sponsoring a School Empowerment Conference which will be held on Friday, Nov. 28 and Saturday, Nov. 29, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Moanalua High School. The conference will be attended by principals and teachers, but is also open to anyone interested in improving Hawaii’s public school system.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided, along with conference materials, free of charge. The first 300 registrants will also receive a complimentary copy of “10 Lessons from New York City Schools – What Really Works to Improve Education,” by Eric Nadelstern. Registrants can participate in breakout sessions following keynote presentations by these internationally recognized experts on “school empowerment”:
Michael Strembitsky, former superintendent of Edmonton Public Schools and internationally recognized consultant on school empowerment to large school systems in states across the United States
Judy Ivie Burton, president and CEO of a network of charter schools called the Alliance of College Ready Public Schools in Los Angeles and leader of the "LEARN" school-empowerment effort by the Los Angeles Unified School District
Dr. Tommy Chang, Instructional Area Superintendent, Intensive Support and Innovation Center, Los Angeles Unified School District and leader of its “Pilot Schools,” consisting of 49 autonomous schools
Jeremy Hauser, associate superintendent of Clark County School District and leader of the "Empowerment Schools" initiative in Clark County that would dramatically reform that district’s system of school governance
Dr. Sandra Stoddard, executive director for Governance and Strategic Support Services, Edmonton Public Schools, which is one of the most admired and respected school districts in North America in the area of school empowerment
David Fraser, executive director, Corporate Services, Edmonton Public Schools
Dr. Lisa Wright, principal of the Michael Strembitsky School (K-9), Edmonton Public Schools
Bruce Coggles, recently retired assistant superintendent of Edmonton Public Schools and former principal of the internationally renowned Jasper High School
Additionally, most members of Hawaii’s 27-member School Empowerment Delegation will be in attendance and in breakout sessions to share their takeaways from their recent trip to observe other school systems. Additionally they will share their insights on reforming Hawaii’s uniquely centralized, top-down governance structure.
“This conference comes at the perfect time for Hawaii,” said Catherine Payne, the chairperson of Hawaii’s Charter School Commission and a board member of the Education Institute of Hawaii. “The stars are in alignment for finally making our system revolve around the schools rather than around the state office.”
Another member of the Education Institute of Hawaii’s board of directors, Roberta Mayor, added “I was fortunate to have been included in the 27-person group that recently visited school systems elsewhere. The speakers at this conference are the most interesting and powerful speakers we encountered on that trip. It is amazing that so many of the top experts on this subject will be speaking at this conference.”
Mayor served for 24 years with the Hawaii Department of Education as a teacher at Waipahu High School, principal of Waianae High School, Honolulu District deputy superintendent, and director of General Education K-12. She also spent 17 years in California where she served as chief management analyst for the California’s Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team and as superintendent of the Oakland School District.
Education Institute of Hawaii Executive Director Darrel Galera stressed that this conference will cover the practicalities of dramatically changing the DOE’s governance structure.
“Hawaii’s public school system is simply too large to be managed centrally and despite good intentions, it has become fixated on one-size-fits-all solutions that limit innovation and waste resources,” Galera said. “People can debate whether enough resources are being devoted to public education, but it’s undeniable that not nearly enough of the current budget makes its way to the schools and classrooms.”
Those interested in attending the School Empowerment Conference may register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/empowerment2014. Additional information can be found at the Education Institute of Hawaii’s website: http://www.edthinktankhawaii.org.
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