Summer Seminars at Six: An Introduction to Education Policy
Summer Seminars at Six
Teachers at ED are presenting summer seminars on education policy. Watch every other Thursday (through Aug 25) at 6 pm ED to learn about:
- ED 101 Primer, July 14
- Who's on First? State and Federal Roles and Responsibilities for Education, July 28
- Fixing What's Broken in No Child Left Behind, August 11
- Leading Their Profession: Teachers and Education Policy, August 25
Details below.
ED's Summer Seminars at Six are designed to share information about education policy that will help teachers to be engaged and participate in policy discussions at the federal, state and district level. Led by teachers working at the Department, along with other staff, there will be opportunities for questions and discussion both in person and online. The four seminars will take place at the U.S. Department of Education and will be available online through ustream.
Register for the Summer Seminars.
Leading Their Profession: Teachers and Education Policy, Thursday, August 25.
Questions to be answered include:
- What are ED's proposals for strengthening teaching and supporting teachers?
- What does the Blueprint say about teacher evaluations?
- What can teachers do to get involved in educational issues both at the national level and in their state or district?
- What are the Teacher Incentive Fund and Title II?
Resources
- Watch the archived video of the Aug 25 seminar.
- Transcript
[MSWord, 131KB] - Presentation to Accompany the Seminar
[MS PowerPoint, 1.9MB] - Suggested Reading List
- A Blueprint for Reform
- Great Teachers and Great Leaders [PDF, 920KB]
- Video: A Teacher's Guide to Fixing NCLB
- The New Teacher Project's Study: The Widget Effect

- Performance-Based Compensation: Design and Implementation at Six Teacher Incentive Fund Sites

- Built for Teachers: How the Blueprint for Reform Empowers Educators
- McKinsey and Company: Closing the Talent Gap [PDF, 600KB]

- Working Toward Wow: A New Vision for the Teaching Profession
- Eggers and Clements: The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries

An ED 101 Primer, Thursday, July 14.
Questions to be answered include:
- What is the mission or purpose of the U.S. Department of Education?
- How is education funded in the United States?
- What is the organizational structure of ED, and where can I go for help with my issue?
- What is Title I and how does it work?
Resources
- Watch the archived video of the July 14 seminar.
- Presentation to Accompany the Seminar
[PDF, 1.3MB] - Suggested Reading List for Title I, Part A
* signifies most important readings- *ESEA [PDF, 1.8MB]
- *Title I, Part A Regulations
- ED non-regulatory guidance on SEA procedures for adjusting ED determined Title I, Part A allocations [MS Word, 1.9MB]
- ED non-regulatory guidance on LEA procedures for allocating funds to individual schools [MS Word, 742KB]
- *ED non-regulatory fiscal guidance (including section on supplement not supplant) [PDF, 254KB]
- ED non-regulatory schoolwide program guidance [MS Word, 454KB]
- ED non-regulatory parental involvement guidance [MS Word, 390KB]
- ED non-regulatory LEA and school improvement guidance [MS Word, 958KB]
- ED non-regulatory guidance on private school participation [MS Word, 336KB]
- *OMB Circular A-87
- Additional Readings
Who's on First? State and Federal Roles and Responsibilities for Education, Thursday, July 28.
Questions to be answered include:
- What are the states' and the federal government's responsibilities for education?
- What is the Common Core?
- What are the primary ED funding streams and competitive programs?
- What is Race to the Top and how does it support teachers and students?
Resources
- Watch the archived video of the July 28 seminar.
- Transcript
[MSWord, 135KB] - Presentation to Accompany the Seminar
[MS PowerPoint, 1.1MB] - Additional Resources
Fixing What's Broken in No Child Left Behind, Thursday, August 11.
Questions to be answered include:
- The Elementary and Secondary Education Act and No Child Left Behind—same or different?
- What problems are teachers, schools, and states having with NCLB?
- In their Blueprint for Reform, what do President Obama and Secretary Duncan propose to do to fix what is not working in NCLB?
- What does the Blueprint propose with regard to testing?
- What is the federal School Improvement Grant program for low-performing schools and how might it affect my school or state?
Resources
- Watch the archived video of the August 11 seminar.
- Transcript
[MSWord, 143KB] - Presentation to Accompany the Seminar
[PowerPoint, 4.8MB] - Suggested Reading List
- A Blueprint for Reform
- How the Blueprint differs from NCLB [MS PowerPoint, 101KB]
- Built for Teachers: How the Blueprint for Reform Empowers Educators
- Summaries of research supporting the Blueprint:
- College- and Career-Ready Students [PDF, 749KB]
- Great Teachers and Great Leaders [PDF, 920KB]
- Meeting the Needs of English Learners and Other Diverse Learners [PDF, 662KB]
- A Complete Education [PDF, 1.17MB]
- Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students [PDF, 891KB]
- Fostering Innovation and Excellence [PDF, 840KB]
- Final Requirements for School Improvement Grants [PDF, 172KB]
- SIG Guidance [PDF, 1.1MB]
- IES Baseline SIG Analysis
- School Turnaround Newsletters




