Purpose of the Summer Institute:

The primary responsibility of an effective leader is to help their organization improve. The Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement’s School Improvement Summer Institute (SISI) is designed for school and district leaders who know that despite the challenges their schools and communities face, they can make a positive difference in the lives of the students they serve. The SISI will engage school system leaders from across the state of Maryland in a collaborative and intensive two-day experience centered on the following themes:

• Equity: Most of our schools toughest problems center on the inequitable results we are getting from our students. Effective leaders must understand how equity and inequity persist in their unique school environments and create the culture and climate necessary to address them.
• Improvement: The students in our schools today can’t wait for a new education policy or massive new funding that is always promised but rarely delivered. Effective leaders must develop and design strategies to improve the quality of teaching and learning - and in turn student outcomes, with the systems, resources, and staffing available to them.
• Leadership: Having a formal role of authority in a school or school system does not make one a “leader”. Effective leaders are constantly developing their own leadership capacity and, more importantly, developing and distributing leadership across the organization.

Dr. Douglas Anthony (@DrDougAnthony), Senior Fellow at the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park 

Dr. Douglas W. Anthony is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement at the University of Maryland- the very same institution where he earned his Bachelors’, Master’s and Doctorate degrees. Anthony, with over 30 years in public education, now leads the Anthony Consulting Group (ACG) where he works with school districts, universities and state departments of education across the country as a consultant and executive level coach. Prior to leading ACG, he served as an Associate Superintendent for one of the largest school districts in the country. Anthony served in several roles throughout his career including: teacher, school development program facilitator, assistant principal, principal, director of school leadership, director of human capital management, interim chief of human resources, and executive director for talent management. Anthony has presented nationally on several leadership topics, spoken on Capitol Hill and has been featured in several articles, podcasts and research reports on leadership.

 

Dr. Manuelito Biag (@doctorbiag), Senior Associate, Networked Improvement Science; Managing Director, Center for Post-Secondary Innovation, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Manuelito Biag joined the Carnegie Foundation in 2016. As a senior associate, he provides leadership, instructional, and research support in the area of networked improvement science. Currently, he aids the Foundation’s field-building efforts in higher education by directing the Improvement Leadership Education and Development (iLEAD) network – a community of 12 district-university partnerships committed to localizing leadership preparation through the use of improvement science principles, methods, and tools. Manuelito comes to Carnegie from Stanford University where he served as senior researcher at the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities at the Graduate School of Education. His work, which has been presented in community forums, professional conferences, and published in academic journals, policy briefs, and edited volumes, examines the organizational structures, policies, and programs that influence students’ learning and overall development. Manuelito holds a doctorate in school organization and education policy from the University of California, Davis.

 

Dr. Regina Biggs, Associate Professor, College of Education and Human Development, George Mason University

Regina Biggs is an Associate Professor at George Mason University in the College of Education and Human Development.  Regina has served as a teacher, district leader, and managing director of an education consulting group while working across the P-20 education landscape.  She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy at Loyola University-Chicago.  Regina teaches in the Education Leadership Program and her interests focus on developing educators’ attitudes and beliefs on issues of diversity, equity, and social justice to broaden access to excellence for all students. 

 

Dr. Andrew Brantlinger, Associate Professor, University of Maryland, College Park

Andrew Brantlinger is an associate professor of mathematics education in TLPL. His research interests pertain to urban mathematics education, teacher preparation, and critical mathematics pedagogy.  Recent publications appear in Urban Education, Teachers College Record, and the Journal of Research in Mathematics Education.

 

Pamela Callahan (@PamCallahan), Graduate Assistant, Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park

Pamela Callahan is a Graduate Assistant at the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement at the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. Candidate in Education Policy. Pamela studies the intersection of First Amendment speech protections and public schools. Her research has been published in On Democracy, West's Education Law Reporter, and Action in Teacher Education. Prior to graduate school, she proudly served as a middle school math teacher and department chair in Prince George's County, Maryland. Pamela earned degrees from Johns Hopkins University (M.S.Ed), George Mason University (M.P.P), and the University of Pittsburgh (B.S.B.A).

 

Dr. Lawrence M. Clark, Associate Dean, Office of Undergraduate Studies, University of Maryland, College Park

Associate Dean Lawrence M. Clark joined the Office of Undergraduate Studies in July 2021. He works on learning outcomes assessment, general education, diversity and inclusion, faculty and curriculum development, and other key areas. Dr. Clark has been at the University of Maryland since 2007 and is Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, in the College of Education. He served from 2018 to 2020 as Senior Research Associate of Evidence-Based Innovations in Teacher Education in the College of Education Dean’s Office and has participated as a faculty fellow in the Big Ten Academic Alliance Leadership Program and the Advancing Faculty Diversity program (UMD ADVANCE). 

Dr. Clark’s research is in the area of mathematics education, with a focus on relationships among teachers’ beliefs, perceptions, and instructional practices. He is currently PI on a major grant from the Maryland State Department of Education and in collaboration with Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Public Schools, as well as PI on a project funded by the National Science Foundation that immerses middle school students in sports data analytics in efforts to build their knowledge of statistical concepts and data science. He received his Ph.D. from Emory University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan.

 

Andy Cole, Senior Consultant, The Wallace Foundation

Andy Cole serves as a senior consultant with The Wallace Foundation working on special projects with an emphasis on work with principal supervisors. He has served as a district grant reviewer for the Wallace Foundation’s Leadership Pipeline Initiative as well as the Principal

Supervisor Initiative program. Andy also serves as a reviewer for the Quality Measures process developed by Education Development Center (EDC) to assess the effectiveness of education leadership programs in New York City and Prince George's County Maryland. For over 22 years Andy served in several leadership positions within Fairfax County Public Schools, including director of employee performance and development, director of LEAD Fairfax-a Wallace Foundation first generation funded initiative, and most recently director of leadership development until his retirement in 2010. Recently, he has served as the lead consultant for the National Association of State Boards of Education for their 2011 “Teacher Preparation, Evaluation, Continuum and Compensation'' national study group, and is the co-author of the report Gearing Up: Creating a Systematic Approach to Teacher Effectiveness.
 

Alesha Daughtrey (@aleshadaughtrey), Executive Director and Partner, Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ)

Alesha works to develop strategies that support and sustain collective leadership – for schools and districts, among other organizational partners, and within CTQ’s internal teams. Originally trained as a high school ELA teacher, her passion for systems pulled her to other professional paths in community organizing and engagement, policy, and philanthropy. Since joining the organization in 2009, she has co-developed professional learning and support models for teacher leaders and administrators, researched conditions and practices for effective school leadership and educator retention, and supported more than 50 partnering teams in leading sustainable change in their schools, districts, and states. Alesha holds a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from Duke University.
 

Felice DeSouza (@nikid693), Systemic Improvement Specialist, Office of Monitoring and Accountability, Prince George’s County Public Schools

Felice N. DeSouza is a graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, FAMU (undergraduate degree) and Walden University (Master’s degree). Currently, she is pursuing a doctorate in Education Leadership with a focus on Improvement Science from the

University of Maryland College Park. She has been in education for 28 years. Her teaching career began in Indian River County Public Schools in Florida. For the past 24 years, she has worked in Prince George’s County Public Schools, MD. Currently, she is the Supervisor of

the Office of Monitoring and Accountability. Before acquiring this role, she served as an Instructional Specialist in the Office of Monitoring and Accountability, a teacher of mathematics in grades 6–9, school improvement chairperson, girls’ basketball coach, mathematics department chair, mathematics coach and specialist, Turnaround Specialist, Systemic Improvement Specialist. For over 13 years, Felice has facilitated learning for students, teachers, educational coaches, and leaders in education in various roles, from instructionally based personnel to executives in school leadership. 

 

Dr. Tracey Durant (@traceyldurant), Executive Director, Office of Equity, Baltimore City Public Schools

Dr. Tracey Lynette Durant is an Independent Education and Nonprofit Consultant, working as a contractor in the Office of Equity and Cultural Proficiency for Baltimore County Public Schools. Formerly, Dr. Durant was the Director of Professional Development at Maryland Nonprofits. 

Prior to joining Maryland Nonprofits, Dr. Durant was the founding Executive Director of the 100 Black Men of Maryland College Access Program (100 CAP). During her tenure as the Coordinator of Learning Assistance at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), she was responsible for coordinating Title III grant initiatives related to improving developmental education pass rates and closing the achievement gap. She holds degrees from Sojourner-Douglass College, Coppin State University and Morgan State University. Named a Daily Record “Leading Woman”, Dr. Durant serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Chimes Foundation, Incorporated, mentor with the Independent Fund’s Urban Scholars Program, President of the CollegeBound Foundation Alumni Association, and President of the Sojourner-Douglass College Alumni Association. 

 

Dr. Kris Defilippis (@DeFlippis), Director of Academic Response Team, Bronx Borough Office Leadership

Kris began his career in education as a custodian, teacher’s aide and then a Social Studies middle school teacher in the Bronx. Kris served as a Social Studies and English Department Chairperson at a Special Act school and was a Middle School Associate Principal in a New York suburban setting.  Recently Kris has partnered with the Carnegie Foundation and is currently a Doctoral candidate in the Fordham University Education, Leadership and Policy program. The focus of his research is on using improvement science to create equitable structures within our school system.
 

Dr. Segun Eubanks (@SegunEu), Director, Center for Education Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park 

Dr. Segun Eubanks is the Director of the Center for Education Innovation and Improvement and Professor of Practice at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Eubanks also serves as the Chair of the Board of Education for Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). Prior to joining UMD, He previously served 11 years as the Director of Teacher Quality for the National Education Association. In these roles, Dr. Eubanks led major policy initiatives and programs such as the Teacher Leadership Initiative, the Teacher Residency Taskforce, the National Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching and the NEA’s Committee on Professional Standards and Practice. He has served in various leadership roles with national non-profit education organizations including as Executive Director of the Community Teachers Institute and Vice President of Recruiting New Teachers, Inc. Dr. Eubanks earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Educational Advocacy from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, a Master of Science degree in Human Services Administration from Springfield College, and a Doctorate of Education in Teaching and Learning Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park.
 

Dr. Louis Gomez, Senior Fellow, Networked Improvement Science, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Louis Gomez is Professor of Education (and of Information Studies) at the University of California, Los Angeles. Gomez has served since 2008 as a senior fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where he leads the Network Development work. Beginning in 2009, he held the Helen S. Faison Chair in Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was also director of the Center for Urban Education and a senior scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center. From 2001 to 2008, he held a number of faculty appointments at Northwestern University, including the Aon Chair in the Learning Sciences at the School of Education and Social Policy. Prior to joining academia, he spent 14 years working in cognitive science and person–computer systems and interactions at Bell Laboratories, Bell Communications Research Inc. and Bellcore. His research interests have encompassed the application of computing and networking technology to teaching and learning, applied cognitive science, human–computer interactions and other areas. Gomez received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1974 and a doctorate in cognitive psychology from UC Berkeley in 1979.

Iris Bond Gill (@Iris007Gill), CEO, Opportunity Consulting and Consultant, Center For Educational Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park

Iris Bond-Gill is chief executive officer of Opportunity Consulting and a consultant at the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement at the University of Maryland. An established leader, Iris is known for passion toward inclusive and equitable systems. Iris has a strong background in education and youth policy, having served as a senior leader at the national level and as an Assistant Superintendent at the state education level for 20 years. She started her career as a seventh grade teacher in New Orleans and is committed to closing opportunity gaps and advancing equity for those most underserved by our institutions and systems.. She currently provides consulting services to public agencies and organizations across the country. Iris has a Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University, a Master of Science degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. She is trained in human-centered design techniques by IDEO and possesses a robust facilitation toolkit.  She is also an Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)© Qualified Administrator.

Dr. William Hite, CEO and President, KnowledgeWorks

Dr. William R. Hite is the president and CEO of KnowledgeWorks, leading the organization towards making the mission and vision a reality. He formerly served as Superintendent of The School District of Philadelphia, the largest public school system in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hite’s professional experience includes serving at every level – teacher, principal, central office administrator and superintendent. He was previously superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland where his central work focused on enhanced access and rigor to ensure college- and career-readiness. Prince George’s County schools, one of the 25 largest systems in the United States, received national recognition for expanding access to Advanced Placement courses during his tenure.

Dr. Hite also served as an assistant superintendent in Georgia’s Cobb County School District. In addition, as an administrator in Henrico County, Virginia, he led Highland Springs High School to “Best Practices” honors from the state’s General Assembly. Dr. Hite holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Virginia Tech, master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Virginia and a doctorate in education specializing in educational leadership from Virginia Tech. He is the inaugural superintendent in residence and executive fellow at The Broad Center at the Yale School of Management for the 2022-2023.

Dr. Cherise J. Hunter, Fellow at the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park 

Dr. Cherise J. Hunter is a Fellow at the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement and the Project Manager for the Maryland PDS 2025 Project at the University of Maryland. She brings expertise in executing large scale policy and research agendas in the areas of education, workforce development, and the post-secondary transition of youth with disabilities.  Recently, Hunter was the Policy Manager for the Howard County Public School System. Hunter also spent over eight years as a Senior Research Analyst with the U.S. Department of Labor where she managed a multi-million dollar portfolio of workforce development evaluations and co-led a cross-agency federal committee to establish a youth transition research agenda. Hunter was a Governor’s Fellow with the Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Early Intervention and Special Education Services. She earned her Bachelors’, Masters’ and Doctorate degrees from the University of Maryland in Special Education. Hunter proudly began her career as a Special Education Transition Teacher/Coordinator.

Dr. David Imig (@DavidImig1), Senior Fellow, Strategic Initiatives, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Professor of Practice Emeritus, University of Maryland, College Park

Dr. David Imig is a Professor of the Practice Emeritus at the University of Maryland, College of Education. He co-directs the College's Cohort-based EdD Program that serves 4 counties in Maryland. Dr. Imig came to the University of Maryland in 2006 from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), where he was President and Chief Executive Officer for twenty-five years. Prior to his appointment as executive, he directed the Association's governmental relations program and contributed to the AACTE international education efforts. Dr. Imig was one of the founding members of the National Policy Board for Educational Administration and represented AACTE on that Board for some twenty years. He served as Chair of both NPBEA and the Learning First Alliance, and in numerous capacities in the governance of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. He currently serves as a Senior Scholar for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and co-directs the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED). He is the former President of the National Society for the Study of Education. His degrees are from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Heather Lageman (@hklageman), Executive Director, Department Organizational Development & Leadership, Baltimore County Public Schools

Heather Lageman serves as the Executive Director of the Department Organizational Development & Leadership for Baltimore County Public Schools. Prior, she served as the Director of Curriculum for the Maryland State Department of Education, and managed statewide implementation of the Teacher Induction Program. She has served as Race to the Top Local Education Agency (LEA) Director for Maryland. She is the Maryland Codes Code.org Regional Partnership Program Manager, Past-President of The Council of Educational Administrative and Supervisory Organizations of Maryland (CEASOM) and was the facilitator of the Networks and the Internet Writing Team for the K-12 Computer Science Framework. Heather serves on the Governor's P-20 Leadership Council of Maryland and is a member of the Governor's Cybersecurity and Information Technology Task Force. She is on the Board of the Maryland Assessment Group and was a member of the National Task Force on Assessment Education. She is Past-President of the Learning Forward Maryland Affiliate and Past-Chair of the Learning Forward Foundation.

Laura Liccione, Improvement Science Instructional Specialist, Dual Appointment University of Maryland, College Park & Prince George’s County Public Schools

Laura Liccione is the Improvement Science Instructional Specialist, a dual appointment between the University of Maryland, Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement and Prince George’s County Public Schools. In this role, Liccione manages two networked improvement communities focused on overcoming learning loss and improving student outcomes in K-12 mathematics. Prior to this appointment, she served over five years as the Academic Coordinator for the Maryland State Department of Education where she led the evaluation of all local school system K-12 English language arts and mathematics curriculum, ensuring alignment with state content standards. Liccione began her career as an elementary school teacher and later taught secondary English language arts and math courses, and held various leadership roles. She earned a Masters of Science from Johns Hopkins University in Instructional Technology for School Leaders and a Masters of Science from McDaniel College in Curriculum and Instruction, Leadership Pathway. She earned her Bachelors of Science from University of Maryland in social sciences and elementary education.

Dr. William Ming Liu (@DrWillMingLiu), Chair & Professor, Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, University of Maryland, College Park 

William Ming Liu, PhD., is Professor of Counseling Psychology and Department Chair at the University of Maryland. His research interests are in social class and classism, men and masculinity, and White supremacy and privilege. He has received leadership awards from the Committee on Socioeconomic Status (APA), The Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race (Division 45 of APA), and others. In 2022, he received the Janet E. Helms Award for Mentoring and Scholarship from the Winter Roundtable, Teachers College, Columbia University. His work is cited in multiple Multicultural Guidelines. He is an editor of Culturally Responsive Counseling with Asian American Men (2010, Routledge), the author of Social Class and Classism in the Helping Professions: Research, Theory, and Practice (2011, Sage), the editor of the Handbook of Social Class in Counseling (2013, Oxford University Press) and more. He is co-author of Psychology and the Social Class Worldview (2022, Routledge) and is also co-authoring a forthcoming book titled Systems of White Supremacy and White Privilege: A Racial-Spatial Framework for Psychology from Oxford University Press. 

Ed Mitzel (@Edmundm101), Senior Associate, Insight Education Group

Ed Mitzel joined Insight Education Group as a Senior Associate after retiring from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) where he was Executive Director in the Office of Leadership Development and School Improvement. With over 30 years in public education, he served as a biology teacher in the Cecil County Public Schools and for 16 years as principal in Baltimore County.  Mr. Mitzel has held the role of principal, assistant principal, science department chair, magnet coordinator, and science teacher for schools in middle and high school suburban settings. He earned a B.S. from the University of Delaware, an M.A.T. from Johns Hopkins University and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Notre Dame of Maryland University. 

Etai Mizrav (@Etai_Mizrav), Managing Partner, Opportunity Consulting

Etai Mizrav is a Managing Partner at Opportunity Consulting. He is an expert on addressing inequity in public policy and a published researcher in educational inequality. He has significant experience and expertise in developing policies and implementing programs related to equity in policy and has led multiple equity reviews for large districts in different parts of the country. Etai is also an expert on addressing educator shortages and diversifying the teacher workforce, and worked with dozens of states and districts to develop plans on these issues. He has designed several tools to identify equity gaps that have been used by practitioners in dozens of states, districts, and schools and presented in national forums. Previously, Etai was a Senior Technical Assistant Consultant at American Institutes for Research (AIR), and the manager of education policy and equity for the Washington, DC, Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Etai has a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University, and is working towards his doctorate degree in education from George Washington University.

Lori Nazareno (@LoriNCTQ), NBCT, School Design Director, Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ)

Lori supports teams to rethink and redesign the ways in which the collective capacity of educators is used so that it can be leveraged to better serve all learners. She helped lead the development of a number of CTQ tools and processes that teams use to take their ideas from thought to action, then to share their stories of impact. Her expertise comes from 25 years of classroom experience, being a dual-certified NBCT, and having designed and launched a collectively-led school. She served on the NBPTS Board of Directors, NEA’s Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Teacher Advisory Board, as well as having been published in a number of professional journals for her work on collective leadership. Beyond CTQ, she is engaged in the Global Social Justice Collaborative which seeks to advance equity and create a world that works better for all.

Dr. Meisha Porter (@MeishaPorter), CEO of the Bronx Community Foundation

Dr. Meisha Porter is The Bronx Community Foundation’s inaugural President and CEO. Meisha previously held the position of Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest school system in the nation. She was responsible for educating 1.1 million students in over 1,800 schools. Prior to taking on the role as Chancellor, she served as The Bronx Executive Superintendent where she was deeply invested in sharpening school leaders’ equity lens and building collaborative practices across schools. She also served as the Superintendent for Community School District #11 and Principal of The Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice(LGJ). During her tenure at LGJ, Meisha served as Community Coordinator, Internship Coordinator, and taught English before becoming an Assistant Principal and then taking the helm as Principal in 2004. She is exceedingly aware of the challenges city schools and communities face and has dedicated her life to improving the learning environment for all students.

Dr. Sophia Rodriguez (@SoRoPhD), Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, College Park 

Sophia Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor in the Minority and Urban Education specialization in the Teaching, Learning, Policy, and Leadership department. Her integrated research agenda addresses issues related to racial equity, urban education and policy, and centralizes minoritized youth voices. Her two current longitudinal projects, funded by the Spencer and W.T. Grant Foundations (2018-2022) and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), utilize mixed-methods and ethnographic designs to investigate how community-school partnerships, teachers, and school-based mental health professionals promote equity and advocate for undocumented (im)migrant and refugee youth. The IMLS project that focuses on newcomer migrant youth belonging was recently awarded the prestigious Library of Congress Literacy Award. In 2022, she was named a William T. Grant Scholar to conduct a longitudinal study about how schools manage the welcome of newcomer immigrant youth. For her work to date, Rodriguez received the Early Career Award for Division G (Social Contexts of Education) in the American Educational Research Association.
 

Dr. Sonja Brookins Santelises, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools

Dr. Sonja Brookins Santelises has spent close to 30 years focused on building high-quality teaching and learning to help students excel. She first came to City Schools as chief academic officer, serving in that role from 2010 to 2013. She returned to City Schools in July 2016 after three years as vice president for K-12 policy and practice at The Education Trust, a nonprofit organization focused on closing the achievement gap experienced disproportionately by African American, Latino, and Native students and students from low-income families. Dr. Santelises came to Baltimore in 2010 from Boston, where she was the assistant superintendent for a network of 23 "pilot schools". Prior to holding the pilot schools post, she was assistant superintendent for teaching and learning/professional development in Boston.

Dr. Santelises began her career in education as director of professional development and teacher placement with Teach for America (New York). She holds a Master of Arts degree in education administration from Columbia University and a Doctor of Education in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University.

Dr. James Scott Smith (@smcps_supt), Superintendent of St. Mary’s County Public Schools

Dr. James Scott Smith is our Superintendent. Dr. Smith has been with St. Mary’s County Public Schools since he began as an English teacher at Leonardtown High School (LHS) in 1991.  While in the classroom, he also sponsored the school newspaper, the literary magazine, the school newsletter, several drama productions, and the National Honor Society. Beyond the classroom, he was the English department chair and administrator in charge of Evening High School. He left the classroom in 2000 to become an assistant principal at LHS.  Two years later, he became the principal of the school. In 2007, he became the Director of Secondary Schools and advanced to Executive Director in 2012. In the spring of 2013 he was named the acting Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and held that position until the appointment of Interim Superintendent.  On July 1, 2015 Dr. Smith's appointment as Superintendent of Schools began. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Education from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, a Master’s Degree in Human Resources from Towson University, and a Doctorate of Education from the University of Maryland at College Park. 

Claire Silva (@ClaireSilvaData), Project Support Coach, Fairfax County Public Schools 

Claire Silva works as a Project Support Coach for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), managing strategic plan project teams. Her work includes the design and implementation of innovation and improvement efforts tackling longstanding system-wide problems of practice. She supports the use of continuous improvement methodologies including agile project management, systems thinking, and improvement science. Claire provides data coaching to support the identification and collection of measures for reporting on scale and impact. Claire taught biology & oceanography for fourteen years in both high school classroom and online environments. She served as an Instructional Coach and Data Specialist supporting schools with using data to inform instructional decision making. Silva earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Rhode Island, a masters in education administration & supervision from the University of Virginia, and is currently a ED.D candidate at the University of Virginia in Education Leadership. Claire also serves as a Carnegie National Faculty with an endorsement in ‘Introduction to Improvement Science Basics.'

Dr. Jean Snell, Associate Director, Center for Education Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park 

Dr. Jean Snell is the Associate Director and Senior Faculty Specialist for the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement at the University of Maryland.  She co-facilitates improvement NICs for the Center, leads training and workshops on continuous improvement and school improvement planning, and she teaches and advises in the doctoral program in School Systems Leadership.  Additionally, she serves as the Program Coordinator for the School Improvement Leadership Admin 1 certification program and is a Project Director for the grant-funded “PDS 2025” initiative.   She also serves as a facilitator in the undergrad “Words of Engagement Intergroup Dialogue” (WEIDP) program.  Jean earned her Doctorate in Education Policy and Leadership at the University of Washington as well as the Danforth Leadership school administrator certificate.  She began her career in education as a secondary English teacher.

Dr. Laura Stapleton (@LauraMStapleton), Chair and Professor, Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology University of Maryland, College Park; Member of the Accountability and Implementation Board

Laura M. Stapleton is chair of the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology and a Professor of Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation. She previously served as the interim dean of the College of Education and Associate Dean for Research, Innovation, and Partnerships. She is the Director of the NSF-funded Quantitative Research Methods Scholars Program. She currently serves as Associate Editor of AERA Open and each year teaches as part of the faculty of the National Center for Education Research on Cluster Randomized Trials at Northwestern University.  She joined the faculty of the college in Fall 2011 after being on the faculty in Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and in Educational Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin. She served as the Associate Director of the Research Branch of the Maryland State Longitudinal Data System Center from 2013-2018. Prior to earning her Ph.D. in Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation, she was an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and, subsequently, conducted educational research at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and as Associate Director of institutional research at the University of Maryland.

Dr. Anita Walls, Senior Director of School Support, Achievement Network

Dr. Anita Walls is a Director of School Support with Achievement Network. She works alongside school leaders and teachers in Washington, D.C and Baltimore City Public Schools to provide support, training, and coaching around instructional leadership, data driven instruction, common core standards, and strategies to increase student achievement. She also consults with Teaching Lab and UnboundEd as a national facilitator focusing on the intersection of standards, aligned curriculum, content, and educational equity. Prior to becoming a Leadership Coach, Anita spent 5 years as Principal and 10 years as a Reading Specialist, Testing Coordinator, and Teacher with Prince George’s County Public Schools. She graduated from Hampton University where she received a BA in Psychology and a MA in Elementary Education. She received a second MS in Reading Education from Coppin State University and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Maryland College Park. In 2019, Dr. Walls was awarded, as one the Forty Under 40 by Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund.

Dr. Darryl Williams (@BCPS_Sup), Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools

Darryl L. Williams was appointed superintendent of schools for Baltimore County Public Schools on May 21, 2019, by the Board of Education. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Williams served as the associate superintendent of K-12 schools in eight clusters in Montgomery County Public Schools (Md.). For the prior three years, Dr. Williams supervised seven directors of school support and improvement and supervised all 40 middle school principals and 28 high school principals. Prior to these positions, he served two years as the associate superintendent of all 38 middle schools and two years as the community superintendent for the Damascus, Gaithersburg, Magruder, and Watkins Mill clusters. Dr. Williams served as the principal at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, from 2007-2011. Prior to that, he served as the principal of Gaithersburg High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and William H. Farquhar Middle School in Olney, Maryland. Dr. Williams earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Hampton University. He earned his Master of Arts degree in Educational Administration from American University and completed his doctoral degree from the University of Maryland College Park. 

 

DAY ONE - AUGUST 8

•  Fireside Chat: Leadership Inside and Outside the School System

As a kick off to our School Improvement Summer Institute, the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement will host a fireside chat with two former big city school superintendents, Dr. William Hite (Philadelphia) and Dr. Meisha Porter (New York City), moderated by Dr. Segun Eubanks, Center Director, on August 8. Through a moderated discussion and Q&A, this discussion will focus on leveraging the opportunity to lead for equity inside and outside of the system to ensure that every child has an equal share in the promise of public education. 

• Dr. William Hite, CEO and President, KnowledgeWorks  
• Dr. Meisha Porter, CEO of the Bronx Community Foundation
• Moderator: Dr. Segun Eubanks, Director, Center for Education Innovation and Improvement at the University of Maryland, College Park 

DAY TWO - AUGUST 9

• Blueprint Panel: Blueprint for Maryland’s Future 

School Leadership and the Blueprint:  How school leaders can leverage the opportunities and resources of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future.  This session would be a facilitated conversation aimed at helping school leaders both understand and prepare for changes coming with the implementation of Blueprint. 

• Rachel Hise, Executive Director of the Accountability and Implementation Board
• Dr. Laura Stapleton, Chair and Professor, Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology  University of Maryland, College Park; Member of the Accountability and Implementation Board
• Moderator: Dr. Lawrence Clark, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies; Associate Professor, Mathematics Education University of Maryland, College Park 
• Moderator: Pamela Callahan, Graduate Assistant, Center for Education Innovation and Improvement University of Maryland, College Park 

 

• Workshop A: What are White Spaces? How Might We Create More Equitable Classroom Spaces?

One way to better comprehend race and racism is through the theoretical framework of white spatiality. In this workshop, the presenter will discuss the concept of white spaces and how white time often operates within these spaces as forms of racism. Participants will be invited to discuss ways that they might combat these forms of racism within their classrooms and schools.

• Dr. William Ming Liu, Chair and Professor, Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education University of Maryland, College Park

 

• Workshop B: Aligning Your Passion with Your Career:  Educational Leadership Beyond the Principalship

This session is dedicated to exploring the broad range of possible leadership opportunities and roles that align to participants’ personal mission, vision, and core, and tap into their passion for leadership.  In this session, participants will be invited to consider the space beyond the principalship and the many leadership paths they have yet to discover.

• Ed Mitzel, Senior Associate, Insight Education Group
• Heather Lageman, Executive Director, The Office of Leadership Development, Baltimore County Public Schools
• Dr. Anita Walls, Senior Director of School Support, Achievement Network 
• Moderator: Dr. Jean Snell, Associate Director, Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park

 

• Workshop C: Moving Beyond Workshops: Using Improvement Science to Advance Equity

School leaders and teachers will be offered a framework for application of equity based workshops in order to address existing racialized disproportionality that may be unique to their local contexts. The presenters will demonstrate examples pulled from the work of the Academic Response Team in Bronx schools that impacted.

• Dr. Kris Defilippis, Director of Academic Response Team, Bronx Borough Office Leadership

 

• Workshop D: Identifying School Drivers of Inequality to Promote Improvement

The session will guide participants through potential drivers of inequality at the school level. Participants will go through an interactive activity to consider which drivers may apply in their schools and the actions that they can take to investigate and address them. The session will mirror a longer process TSI schools will engage in during next year’s TSI Improvement Network to explore how they can address their own drivers of gaps and improve student outcomes for those that are currently underserved.

• Iris Bond Gill, CEO, Opportunity Consulting, and Consultant, Center For Educational Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park
• Etai Mizrav, Managing Partner, Opportunity Consulting

 

• Workshop E: Family Engagement and Equity Leadership: Lessons learn from a parent engagement and empowerment study

This session will have three aims. First, participants will learn an overview of recent critical research about how districts and schools can effectively engage and empower parents from underrepresented groups. Second, the presenter will share data from two qualitative case studies of parent groups in two Maryland school districts, including parent engagement practices by the districts and schools, and program specifics for parent empowerment and advocacy. Third, upon sharing the experiences of Black and Latino/x immigrant parents’ barriers to inclusion in these school districts, the research

shows how important it is to build educator and leader awareness about these communities, cultivate formal and informal programming for them to engage with each other and educators, and offer strategies for doing so with a focus on understand key stressors and barriers to inclusion these underrepresented parents face, and how transform systems for equitable access.

• Dr. Sophia Rodriguez, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, College Park 

 

• Workshop F: Personalized Does Not Mean Alone: Building a Micro-credential Strategy for Collective Leadership and Equitable School Improvement

This session presents frameworks for individual leadership practices that build collective efficacy and equitable improvement, and how they have been applied within a successful statewide network. Workshop elements throughout the session guide participants to define strategies for using personalized learning and micro-credentialing to grow and verify these approaches in their schools.

• Alesha Daughtrey, Executive Director and Partner, Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ)
• Lori Nazareno, NBCT, School Design Director, Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ)

 

• Workshop G: Leading for Equity in Baltimore City Public Schools

In this session, participants will learn about the Equity-Centered Pipeline Initiative and how it is playing out in Baltimore City Public School (BCPS) as BCPS leaders center equity in their leadership development and school improvement work. 

• Andy Cole, Senior Consultant, The Wallace Foundation
• Dr. Tracey Durant, Executive Director, Office of Equity, Baltimore City Public Schools

 

• Workshop H: Empathy Interviews & Mapping: Understanding Stakeholder Experiences and Perspectives

In this session, participants will be introduced to the role of empathy interviews in addressing their problems of practice and school improvement.  Participants will have opportunities for guided practice in planning for the implementation of empathy interviews and developing a strategy to apply this tool in their schools or districts.  Resource materials for interview and mapping protocols will be shared. 

• Dr. Jean Snell, Associate Director, Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park 
• Laura Liccione, Improvement Science Instructional Specialist, Dual Appointment University of Maryland, College Park & Prince George’s County Public Schools

DAY THREE - AUGUST 10

• Superintendent Panel: Maryland Superintendent Panel: Leadership in the Post-Pandemic Era 

Three Maryland superintendents share their perspective on leading large districts in these unprecedented times.  These district champions will articulate how they navigate the current landscape of public education while speaking specifically to the concepts of leadership, equity and improvement.

• Dr. Sonja Brookins Santelises, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools
• Dr. Darryl Williams, Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools
• Dr. James Scott Smith, Superintendent of St. Mary’s County Public Schools
• Moderator: Dr. Douglas Anthony, Senior Fellow at the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park 

 

• Workshop I:  Improving Mathematics Outcomes Through Mathematics Teacher Recruitment, Professional Development, and Retention.

This session will begin with a consideration about what the research literature has to say about mathematics teacher recruitment, professional development, and retention and then will turn to a practical example of a project designed to improve induction, instruction, and retention in PGCPS middle schools.

• Dr. Andrew Brantlinger, Associate Professor, University of Maryland, College Park 

 

• Workshop J: A Three Course Meal: SIIP NIC Snacking, PDSA Cycles & PDSA Slams

Interested in a bite-sized approach to learning about Networked Improvement Communities, SIIP Snacking, and PDSA Slams? This session will provide an appetizer of lessons learned from facilitating a School Improvement and Innovation Plan Networked Improvement Community (SIIP NIC). Following the appetizer, participants will enjoy a main course of experiencing PDSA cycles, and round out the meal by preparing a PDSA Slam.

• Claire Silva, Project Support Coach, Fairfax County Public Schools
• Dr. Regina Biggs, Associate Professor, College of Education and Human Development, George Mason University

 

• Workshop K: Using Improvement Science to Advance Equity: A Discussion with Carnegie Senior Fellows

Join distinguished Senior Fellows from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to learn about the origins, promise, challenges and impact of Improvement Science in schools and school districts across the country.  This interactive panel will share stories and lessons learned from Carnegie's groundbreaking work to help schools address their most pressing student learning and equity challenges.  Stories from the recent book “Improvement in Action” and from an upcoming book, “District-university partnerships for equity leadership and continuous improvement” will give meaningful insight to district leaders about using Improvement Science to advance equity.

• Dr. Louis Gomez, Senior Fellow, Networked Improvement Science, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
• Dr. David Imig, Senior Fellow, Strategic Initiatives, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Professor of Practice Emeritus, University of Maryland, College Park
• Dr. Manuelito Biag, Senior Associate, Networked Improvement Science; Managing Director, Center for Post-Secondary Innovation, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
• Moderator: Dr. Segun Eubanks, Director, Center for Education Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park
• Moderator: Felice DeSouza, Systemic Improvement Specialist, Office of Monitoring and Accountability, Prince George’s County Public Schools

 

• Workshop L: Breaking Down the Blueprint: A Focus On Teacher Career Ladder Development

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future calls for a fundamental shift in the daily operations

of schools and the implementation of a new career ladder in each district across the state of Maryland. In this session, school leaders will have the opportunity to delve into the legislative requirements of the Teacher Career Ladders and review international models of career ladders many of which influenced the Blueprint. At the end of this session, school and district leaders will be familiar with the requirements of the Blueprint and will begin the planning necessary to guide their school or district through the upcoming mandatory changes to teacher development, demonstrated competency models, and the way school administrators and teachers will spend their day.

• Dr. Cherise Hunter, Fellow, Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement, University of Maryland, College Park 
• Pamela Callahan, Graduate Assistant, Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement University of Maryland, College Park 

DAY TWO - August 10th, 2022

1. Breakout 1: Maryland Blueprint
2. Breakout 2: Teacher Morale and Retention
3. Breakout 3: Social and Emotional Learning Support
4. Breakout 4: Family Engagement
5. Breakout 5: Educating Black Boys 
6. Breakout 6: Self Care for Leaders

Please access our World Café Protocol document here!