Looking Back: The Center for Learner Equity’ May

June 4, 2018

The Center for Learner Equity Growth

The Center for Learner Equity is excited to welcome another talented new staff member to support our work on behalf of students with disabilities.

Julia K.M. Hesselton, who will serve as The Center for Learner Equity’ Operations Manager, has a diverse background in healthcare and education operations. Julia received her bachelors in Political Science and Environmental Science from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Prior to joining The Center for Learner Equity, Julia worked as a healthcare policy analyst for the Massachusetts House of Representatives and as an Operations Assistant in the Molecular and Systems Biology Department at Dartmouth College. Julia is a strong advocate for women and children and is a crisis line volunteer at WISE, whose mission is to end gender-based violence in rural Vermont through survivor-centered advocacy, prevention, education, and mobilization for social change.

Please join us in welcoming Julia to The Center for Learner Equity team!

The Center for Learner Equity on the Road

Senior Fellow Paul O’Neill took part in the annual summit held by the New Schools Venture Fund in San Francisco and connected with a broad range of leaders and funders on key issues facing the education reform sector.

In San Francisco, O’Neill also represented The Center for Learner Equity at the latest working group convening by Bryan Hassel of Public Impact on serving the highest needs students.

The Center for Learner Equity continues to serve in the New York City Special Education Working Group, composed of various stakeholders who seek to collaboratively address key issues and challenges related to educating students with disabilities.

O’Neill provided testimony in Las Vegas before the Education Committee of the Nevada State Assembly. He addressed the role of Local Education Agency status on charter schools and special education, providing input on legal considerations and recommendations for best practices.

Executive Director Lauren Morando Rhim attended the Education Writers Association’s Annual National Seminar in LA, participating in its deep dive in special education.

The Center for Learner Equity hosted convenings in both Denver and Buffalo this month with charter school leaders, philanthropists, and government officials, with the objective of assessing each city’s special education infrastructure and the potential for creating a collaborative support organization.

Morando Rhim attended the spring convening of the National Collaborative on Inclusive Principal Leadership in Washington DC alongside principal associations, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) member organizations, technical assistance centers, researchers, educator preparation programs, and other nonprofits.

The Center for Learner Equity Resources and More

Be sure to check out our most recently released resources, three case studies that document promising practices and innovative models adopted by Thrive Public Schools, Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools (LAB), and Mott Haven Academy Charter School.

The CCSSO developed this guide in collaboration with education partners to help states establish a vision for effective, inclusive principal leadership and advance that vision statewide to improve outcomes for the success of each child, including those with disabilities.

Special Education News

• Chicago Public Schools — the nation’s third largest school system  — will turn over control of nearly every aspect of its special education program to the Illinois State Board of Education for 3 years.
• On the 64th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the Senate Judiciary Committee gathered to discuss two of President Trump’s judicial nominees, who declined to say in their testimony whether the landmark Supreme Court opinion was correctly decided.
• The Council for Parent Advocates and Attorneys, the NAACP, and the National Federation of the Blind filed a lawsuit against against the U.S. Department of Education for failing to investigate civil-rights complaints from those who repeatedly file such complaints.
• Strikes and Walkouts – Schools’ support staff, including instructional aides and paraprofessionals, are often “overlooked in the broader public discourse” and “sometimes ha[ve] more at stake in walkouts than full-time teachers.”
• Secretary DeVos, who chairs the Federal Commission on School Safety, toured Hebron Harman Elementary School in Hanover, MD and highlighted the school’s use of positive behavior interventions, with gun violence not discussed.

Thank you for reading, and please join us in ongoing virtual conversations by following @NCSCES on Twitter and Instagram!