• Hans Meeder, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education
• Dr. D. Kent King, Missouri Commissioner of Education
• Francis Slay, Mayor, St. Louis

• Anna Dean, Lafayette High School
• Keith Jennings, Gateway High School
• Dominic Marchesi, Pattonville High School
• Alexa Smith, Rockwood Summit High School
• Eric Taylor, Roosevelt High School
• Sylvia Lee, Metro Academy High School

• Liam Goldrich, Senior Policy Analyst, National Governors Association
• Monica Martinez, Director of the Network for the Advancement of Secondary Education, Institute for Educational Leadership

• Facilitators meet with teams in team rooms
• Team leaders will work with members to ensure coverage of all sessions

Moderator:Liam Goldrick, Senior Policy Analyst, National Governor's Association

• STATE POLICIES FOR COLLEGE READINESS AND SMOOTH TRANSITIONS
Liam Goldrick, Senior Policy Analyst, National Governors Association
• Ready or Not, Preparing High School Graduates for Work and College.
Michael Cohen, President, Achieve, Inc.
• Lessons Learned about Core Curriculum and the State Scholars Initiative
Cheryl Orr, Indiana's Education Roundtable
• Respondent:
Peggy Siegel, Director, Strategic Alliances, NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement

Moderator:Elaine Bonner-Tompkins, Project Director, Council of Chief State School Officers

• Just Tell Me What Works! Examining the Knowledge Base on High School Improvement
Janet Quint, Senior Research Associate, MDRC
• Helping Striving Readers Read at a High School Level
Barbara J. Ehren, Research Associate, University of Kansas-Center for Research on Learning
• How Can Youth with Disabilities Achieve at High Levels in High School?
Stephanie Lee, Director, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education
• Improving Instruction for ELL Students Through Standards and Assessments
Kathleen Leos, Associate Deputy Undersecretary and Senior Policy Advisor to the Office of English Language Acquisition, U.S. Department of Education

Forum 3. High School Reform Models That Support Student Achievement: Room 125 In this session discussants will present an overview of the characteristics and potential of a variety of high school improvement models. Representatives from three of these models will then review the successes and challenges that have been associated with the implementation of these models in districts around the country.

Moderator: Richard Luecking, President, TransCen, Inc.

• Reviewing High School Improvement Models, Characteristics and Potential
Monica Martinez, Director of the Network for the Advancement of Secondary Education, Institute for Educational Leadership
• High Schools That Work
Scott Warren, Director of Contracted Services, High Schools That Work/Making Middle Grades Work
• First Things First
Steve Gering, Executive Director of Instruction for the Kansas City Kansas Public Schools
• America’s Choice:
Bob Lumsden, Deputy Regional Director for the Southeast Region, National Center on Education and Economy

Forum 4. Assessment, Accountability and Data with Meaning for Students, Teachers, and Leaders: Room 225 (second floor) In this session presenters will highlight the essential elements in a data collection system and discuss the benefits of collecting longitudinal data for individual students. Discussants will also review strategies that states and districts have implemented to effectively collect and use data to inform decision making on the classroom, school, district, and state levels.

Moderator:Nora Howley, Project Director, Council of Chief State School Officers

• How States Can Use Data for Identifying School Progress
Steven Klein, Senior Research Associate, MPR Associates, Inc
• Essential Elements of Statewide Data-Collection Systems
  Sarah Collins, Director, School Effectiveness Analysis, National Center for Educational Accountability
  Thomas Lindsley, Director, Washington DC Office, National Center for Educational Accountability

Forum 5. Nurturing a System of Choice, Innovation and Excellence:LaClede In this session presenters will review policies and programs that are designed to support a variety of educational options within the district or region. Discussants will highlight the critical role of the principal in high school reform. Further details will be presented about the successes and challenges that the Gates Foundation has encountered in their efforts to reform the American high school. Finally, presenters will review how updated career and technical education programs can support the goals of high school improvement.

Moderator:Ruth Martinez, Senior Policy Analyst, DTI Associates, Inc.

• What’s Needed for High School Principals to ‘Break Ranks?’
Rosa Aronson, Director, Office of Advocacy and Strategic Alliances, National Association of Secondary School Principals
• Lessons Learned about Schools that are Rigorous, Relevant and Relational
Carol Rava Treat, Senior Policy Officer, Education, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• How Career Technical Education Relates to High School Improvement
Hans Meeder, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Educatio

Forum 6. Flexibility and Innovation with NCLB: : 325 (third floor) This session will focus on critical issues that are connected with the implementation of No Child Left Behind. Discussants will review the requirements in the legislation related to accountability and to highly qualified teachers. Presenters will also highlight the challenges that NCLB presents for rural and isolated school districts.

Moderator:Elizabeth Vasquez, Partner, Management Consulting Associates

• Accountability Under No Child Left Behind
Kerri Briggs, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education
• Thinking Through Highly Qualified Teaching
Sharon Yates, Teacher Assistance Corps, U.S. Department of Education

• CHARTING THE COURSE FOR NCLB AND RURAL AREAS
Tom Luna, Executive Director of the Secretary’s Rural Education Task Force, U.S. Department of Education

• Reflections on discussion forums
• Scanning and Forecasting: Where is our state now? Where do we want to be?
• Request content experts