EdSource Invitation

Dear California K-12 Stakeholder:

On October 19, 2007, EdSource will host a non-partisan meeting in Sacramento: Getting From Facts to Policy: An Education Policy Convening

You are invited.

In the mid-1990s California began the hard work of setting rigorous K-12 academic content and student performance standards, then aligning the curriculum, the student assessments, and the school accountability system to the goal of meeting those standards. K-12 district and site leaders and educators have been working hard ever since to implement these standards-based reforms and there has been considerable progress. However, there have been no comparable state policy reforms in the interim to better align the school funding, governance, personnel and leadership, or data systems to the goal of improved student performance.

Last March leading education researchers released a series of reports examining California's school finance and governance systems. The "Getting Down to Facts" (GDTF) Research Project was requested by the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence, former Secretary of Education Alan Bersin, the President pro Tem of the California State Senate Don Perata, the Speaker of the California Assembly Fabian Nunez, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. The GDTF research complemented existing research and analyses done by others on these important issues, and identified a number of factors across the state that either facilitate or hinder school success and ultimately student outcomes.

This growing and comprehensive body of research has spurred much good thinking and discussion. The Governor has deemed 2008 the "Year of Education Reform" and many policymakers are motivated to develop comprehensive, meaningful, research-based education policy agendas that could take the state's education system to another level in its ability to make significant gains in student achievement. Between the availability of good research-and a motivated, interested policymaking body in Sacramento-California has a window of opportunity this fall and spring for making bold headway on education reform.

EdSource is committed to informing this public discussion by providing a forum in October for the presentation and sharing of education policy options-based upon nonpartisan analysis, study, and research-offered by a range of K-12 opinion leaders in California with diverse perspectives.

The Convening Details

The October 19 Getting From Facts to Policy Convening will be a day-long event in Sacramento near the Capitol. Invitees include business and civic leaders, researchers, education professionals, community and reform advocates, and state officials. The Convening will focus on research-based policy options related to these four areas: education governance, school finance, personnel and leadership, and education data systems. More details on the location, time, and agenda of the Convening will follow in September.

You are being invited to attend this Convening. You (or your organization) are also invited to submit a written Policy Brief & Options in advance. To be shared at this Convening, your Brief must be received by EdSource by COB on October 1 and must meet the criteria described in the attached Intent to Submit form. The Brief must address policy options related to any or all of the four areas cited above, include a summary citation of research, facts, or other evidence the options are based on, and be no more than six pages in length.

EdSource will include the variety of policy briefs we receive as an appendix to a concise report that fairly summarizes the pertinent facts about the current state of education in California, the research findings from the GDTF Project and other sources, and the implications of that evidence for state policy. We will distribute this report and its appendices to Convening attendees, the media, the general public, and state officials who need to know the facts and some options for responding to them.

The attendees at this Convening will not be asked to reach consensus on the policy options presented. Rather, the intent is simply to pull into one place this fall the best thinking from a range of credible groups for improving the state's education policies, to serve as a robust reference and resource for state policymakers, and to facilitate public discussion on the issues and the possible solutions.

After EdSource receives the RSVP and Intent to Submit forms, we will invite some individuals and groups to make oral presentations at the Convening to explain their recommendations more fully. Both time and space for oral presentations at the Convening is limited. Ensuring balance and range of perspectives will be important to us. Preference will also be given to presenters whose proposals address the issues outlined above and are grounded by research.

Attached, please find an attendance RSVP and Intent to Submit form for this event. The deadline for returning the RSVP and Intent to Submit Form to us is COB September 7, 2007. You may complete the form and submit it to wendy@edsource.org or fax it to EdSource at 650-917-9482.

This Convening is hosted by EdSource with assistance from Cross & Joftus, LLC, and is a project of CIF of the San Francisco Foundation with funding from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, and The Stuart Foundation.

We apologize for the short turn-around, but thank you in advance for your interest and your good work. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at twilliams@edsource.org.

Best regards,

Trish Williams
Executive Director, EdSource