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Last week I was lucky enough to attend the “Big Ideas Retreat” hosted by the Knowledge Alliance at the Aspen Institute conference center in Wye, Maryland.  The theme for this year’s retreat was Opportunities in the New Normal – Leveraging Knowledge to Move Forward.  In addition to their members, Jim Kohlmoss and his staff at the Knowledge Alliance assembled an exciting group of education thought-leaders, researchers, and practitioners.  In addition to the opportunity to interact with such an interesting and knowledgeable group of professionals, the program also showcased successful educators sharing their experience providing rich educational environments in a time of shrinking resources.  A sampling of what I heard that particularly resonated.

• Massachusetts has achieved the status of a high performing state and has proven that the system can work.  Two key factors are stable leadership and common vision.  Mitchell Chester, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, stated that the common vision included a focus on improving learning; a culture of continuous improvement; sustained leadership; and evaluation used to improve practice.  Chester reported that one of his major challenges was finding people in education who are good at implementation.  The theme of the challenge of implementing research-based practices was repeated throughout the two day event.

• Former assistant superintendent and high school principal in the Metro Nashville Public Schools, Julie Williams, raised the issue of unintended consequences of policy decisions and the need to differentiate between equity and equality, stating that some schools need additional resources to meet the needs of poor students.  She emphasized the role of relationships in student learning and school improvement and that this reality is frequently not addressed in policy/practice decisions.  Williams also identified the “elephant in the room” as the issue of discipline in the school and classroom, which is rarely addressed in turnaround schools and student engagement efforts.

• Alan Ingram, superintendent in Springfield, MA public schools, affirmed that there are no silver bullets or quick fixes for school improvement.  He has worked at narrowing the focus in his district and acknowledges that the “new normal” is lean.  For his students he knows that hope is not a strategy; that strategic staffing is essential; and that clearly articulated expectations and execution are key with execution being the hardest to do well.

I was particularly pleased that conversation throughout the event frequently turned from simply discussing what research has shown does work, to actually putting evidence-based practice to work. Since the Knowledge Alliance’s members are researchers, it was encouraging to hear their desire to study implementation strategies with the same rigor that research has historically focused on content and pedagogy. 

Janice Jackson, who has held leadership positions in several urban school districts and is currently executive director of the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE), stated it best when she said that we have to create “border crossers” to build bridges from policy to research to practice.  She said that we can’t just hand over the research and walk away; rather shared research must have supported implementation with coaching-as-problem solving and reflection time built in when trying new approaches. 

It’s always encouraging to know that thoughtful professionals are working throughout the field to address the most pressing challenges in our public schools.  The challenge for the attendees at the Big Idea Retreat is for all of us who work to support education to put what we know works into practice in the local context in which we operate to ensure all children receive the world class education they deserve.