I go to a lot of meetings. And I mean A LOT. Sometimes they have different names: meetings, conferences, work groups, seminars, hearings, work sessions, colloquia, assemblies, conventions, workshops, appointment, rendezvous… but whatever they are called, they are pervasive in my work and life.
So I have gotten really good at tuning in and tuning out. I email. I take notes. I can alphabetically list all US States in under 5 minutes and am currently working on countries by continent. I draw very intricate geometric shapes in the margins. Sometimes, I even covertly play M*A*S*H (Mansion Alley Shack House) like I used to in elementary school. And now with the advent of the iPhone and all its delightful apps….well…. Anyway, what I am taking forever to say here is that it takes something really gripping to bring my full attention to the subject under discussion.
I was at a meeting last Friday that made me forget about iPhones, email, my ongoing scrabble battle, taking notes. I was riveted. The very last session on the last day of the Education Commission of States 2010 National Forum on Education Policy (in Portland) was by far the most powerful.
The title of the session (Starting Strong by Building Effective PreK to Grade 3 Systems) did not give away the powerhouse that is Dr. Jerry Weast, Superintendent of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland. Sponsored by PreK Now and other, this session cracked my mind open to the realities of effective and aligned early learning and public school systems.
How about this for an example: in 2010 MCPS had an 83.1% graduation rate (the highest among the nation’s largest school districts) – a grad rate that has been increasing year over year even as the population of the district has become more diverse and more low-income – in addition to more students needing language assistance. Clearly, a decade-long revolutionary reform initiative founded in early learning and early learning alignment carried through the K-12 grades works.
This school district’s transformation is the subject of the book Leading for Equity: You can be sure it will be the next book on my list and that I will do everything I can to share what I learn. You have to hear this guy speak. Stay tuned…
And If you can’t wait, you can watch this interesting interview with Dr. Weast by The New America Foundation:
