BOARD OF CONTROL FOR SOUTHERN REGIONAL EDUCATION
592 TENTH STREET NW, ATLANTA, GA 303185776 www.sreb.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: THE BOARD OF CONTROL FOR SOUTHERN REGIONAL EDUCATION SHALL BE DEVOTED TO THE TASK OF ASSISTING STATES, INSTITUTIONS AND AGENCIES CONCERNED WITH HIGHER EDUCATION IN THEIR EFFORTS TO ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE AND TO IMPROVE THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LEVEL OF THE SOUTHERN REGION. IN AIDING SUCH STATES, INSTITUTIONS AND AGENCIES, THE BOARD SHALL EXPLORE FULLY, RECOMMEND WHERE DESIRABLE, AND DEVELOP WHERE NEEDED, INTERSTATE COLLABORATION IN THE SUPPORT, EXPANSION OR ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL SERVICES OR SCHOOLS FOR GRADUATE, PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

BMGF3:THE SUBSTANTIAL FIVE-YEAR GRANT WITH THE BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION CAME TO AN END IN JUNE 2019. HOWEVER, THE FOUNDATION SET ASIDE $3.3 MILLION FOR THE CREATION OF A NETWORK OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT. UNDER THIS GRANT, SREB ESTABLISHED AN URBAN NETWORK FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA AND A RURAL NETWORK IN THREE COUNTIES IN NORTH CAROLINA. THE NORTH CAROLINA RURAL NETWORK (NCRN) RECEIVED MOU AND DATA COLLECTING AGREEMENTS WITH THREE RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN NC: BEAUFORT, BLADEN AND STANLY COUNTY. THE NORTH CAROLINA RURAL NETWORK (NCRN) COMPLETED CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEWS IN THE 13 SCHOOLS THAT ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE NETWORK. THESE REVIEWS FOCUSED ON: INSTRUCTION, CURRICULUM, CAREER PATHWAYS, SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS AND A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW TEAMS CONSISTED OF DISTRICT STAFF, SCHOOL STAFF AND LED BY SREB COACHES. A DEBRIEF WAS HELD WITH EACH SCHOOL TEAM AROUND THE FINDINGS AND A WRITTEN REPORT WAS SHARED WITH THEM. SREB STAFF LED SCHOOL TEAMS (PRINCIPAL, COUNSELOR AND LEAD TEACHERS) THROUGH THE PROCESS OF REVIEWING THE DATA IN THE REPORT, CONNECTING THE DATA TO THE GOALS OF THE GRANT AND IDENTIFYING ROOT CAUSES OF SELECTED AREAS OF GROWTH. THE GOALS FOR THIS MEETING WERE: 1. BUILD AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE PURPOSE OF GRANT: WORK IS CENTERED ON EQUITABLE OUTCOMES FOR BLACK, LATINX, AND LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. 2. USE THE CIR REPORT TO UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES IMPACTING STUDENT LEARNING. 3. PRIORITIZE THE OBSTACLES THAT IMPEDE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. 4. ANALYZE ROOT CAUSES TO GAIN GREATER INSIGHTS TO THE PROBLEM. DISTRICT LEADERS FROM EACH DISTRICT COLLABORATED ON THE RESULTS OF THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS AND DEVELOPED A COMMON AIM FOR THE ENTIRE NETWORK. THE NCRN FIRST CONVENING WAS HELD ON AUGUST 13, 2019. SREB LED SCHOOL TEAMS THROUGH THE PROCESS OF CREATING A DRIVER DIAGRAM FOR THEIR AIM STATEMENT. THE GOALS OF THIS MEETING WERE: 1. BUILD FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE AND CORE PARAMETERS 2. BUILD AN OPERATIONAL THEORY OF IMPROVEMENT 3. DETERMINE THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DRIVERS OF THE AIM 4. DEVELOP CHANGE IDEAS. TWO ADDITIONAL CONVENING WERE HELD DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, NOVEMBER AND FEBRUARY, TO CONTINUE THE WORK AND NETWORK AROUND SCHOOL AND DISTRICT CHANGE IDEAS. DURING THE MONTHS OF SEPTEMBER THROUGH MARCH SREB LEADERSHIP AND INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES HAVE BEEN SUPPORTING EACH SCHOOL THROUGH THE PDSA PROCESS. DURING THESE MONTHLY MEETINGS WE HAVE: PROVIDED RESEARCH AND RESOURCES, MET WITH TEACHERS DURING THEIR PLANNING TIME TO HELP THEM REFLECT ON THE PROCESS, PROVIDE WHOLE SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING (FOCUSED ON THEIR DRIVERS: RIGOR AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT) AND DEBRIEF EACH VISIT WITH DISTRICT LEADERS. ONCE THE PDSA PROCESSES GOT UNDERWAY THE SREB TEAM IMPLEMENTED THE INNOVATION CONFIGURATION MAP PROCESS IN EACH OF THE SCHOOLS TO HELP STANDARDIZED AND SPREAD THE SCHOOL'S CHANGE IDEAS. TEACHERS HAD TO DEFINE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND THEN DESCRIBE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM. THROUGH THIS PROCESS WE HAVE LEARNED THAT WE NEED TO BE PRECISE IN OUR LANGUAGE AND HAVE AGREEMENT ON WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM. GETTING INPUT FROM EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE PROGRAM WAS ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE ASPECTS OF THIS PROCESS. BY HELPING TO DEFINE HIGH-QUALITY STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, THE STAFF GAINED A SENSE OF OWNERSHIP FOR WHAT WAS EXPECTED OF THEM. IN THE NCRN THE SCHOOL STAFF USED THEIR IC MAPS TO GUIDE AND FOCUS THEIR ACTIONS AS THEY DEVELOPED COMPETENCE WITH THEIR CHANGE IDEA. THE MAP ALSO MADE IT EASY FOR STAFF TO FOCUS ON ONE COMPONENT AT A TIME, WHICH MADE IMPLEMENTATION LESS OVERWHELMING. SCHOOL LEADERS USED THE IC MAP TO EVALUATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT THE TEACHERS DEVELOPED. THE TOOL PROVIDED LEADERS WITH DATA THAT INFORMED DECISIONS ABOUT THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT. PRIOR TO COVID THERE WAS A PLAN TO REVIEW THE IC MAP, COMPARING THEIR IMPLEMENTATION TO EXPECTATIONS AND REVISING THE MAP AS NEEDED. UNFORTUNATELY, WITH CLOSINGS DUE TO COVID, THAT PART OF THE PROCESS HAS NOT BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. TO ENSURE A CONTINUAL FOCUS ON THE NIC AIM THE GOAL FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 2020 WILL BE TO UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEMS BOTH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ARE FACING IN TERMS OF STUDENTS MEETING GRADE LEVEL STANDARDS THROUGH VIRTUAL, IN-PERSON, OR BLENDED MODEL OF INSTRUCTION. WHAT IS A MAIN PROBLEM THAT THE SCHOOLS ARE CURRENTLY FACING? WHAT IS A REASONABLE GOAL FOR THE SCHOOLS THIS YEAR FOR IMPROVING THAT PROBLEM? HOW ARE THE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND RIGOR DRIVERS INFLUENCED BY THE CURRENT SCHOOL STRUCTURES? WHAT ARE THE ROOT CAUSES FOR PROBLEMS UNCOVERED?TO GATHER INITIAL DATA, THE SREB TEAM HAS DEVELOPED TEACHER AND STUDENT SURVEYS, A VIRTUAL CLASSROOM OBSERVATION RUBRIC AND WILL GATHER STUDENT PARTICIPATION DATA FROM THE SCHOOLS USING THE INFORMATION FROM THEIR LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. ONCE THIS INFORMATION IS GATHERED SREB WILL LEAD THE SCHOOL TEAMS IN CREATING A CHANGE IDEA.WE HAVE ENGAGED OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS: SUSAN ALLRED.

CFDINST:FOR 26 YEARS, THE INSTITUTE ON TEACHING AND MENTORING (INSTITUTE), HOSTED BY THE SREB-STATE DOCTORAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM, HAS HELPED PREPARE UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY SCHOLARS TO EARN THE PH.D. AND BECOME COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS.THE INSTITUTE HAS PARTNERED WITH PROGRAMS WITH SIMILAR GOALS (THE ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION, GATES MILLENNIUM SCHOLARS PROGRAM, THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA), NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES BRIDGES TO THE PROFESSORIATE, THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ALLIANCES FOR GRADUATE EDUCATION AND THE PROFESSORIATE, RONALD E. MCNAIR POSTBACCALAUREATE ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM, THE SOUTHERN REGIONAL EDUCATION BOARD AND THE WESTERN INTERSTATE COMMISSION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION) TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL OF DIVERSIFYING THE NATION'S COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY FACULTY. EVERY FALL, UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY DOCTORAL SCHOLARS AND THEIR MENTORS REPRESENTING MORE THAN FORTY STATES, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, PUERTO RICO, AND MORE THAN 100 ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES CONVENE AT THE INSTITUTE TO LEARN FROM EXPERTS, TO NETWORK WITH PEERS AND DEVELOP SKILLS TO EVENTUALLY TEACH AND CONDUCT RESEARCH IN POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS. THE INSTITUTE STRIVES TO MOTIVATE, INFORM AND INSPIRE THESE SCHOLARS TO USE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO CONDUCT THE RESEARCH AND TEACH NEW GENERATIONS OF STUDENTS THAT CAN RESULT IN BUILDING A BETTER, MORE INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY AND WORKFORCE.THE 2019 INSTITUTE ON TEACHING AND MENTORING CONTINUED THE TREND OF THE LARGEST GATHERING OF MINORITY DOCTORAL PH.D. STUDENTS IN THE NATION WITH 1240 ATTENDEES. OTHER FACTS ABOUT INSTITUTE ATTENDANCE INCLUDE: 41 STATES (INCLUDING PUERTO RICO AND DC) REPRESENTED 294 INSTITUTIONS REPRESENTED 98 UNIVERSITIES RECRUITED & 193 RECRUITER REPRESENTATIVES GENDER: MALE 37%, FEMALE 61%, DID NOT IDENTIFY 1.9%, TRANSGENDER, 0.1% 137 DISCIPLINES REPRESENTED (52% IN STEM) 40 CONCURRENT SESSIONS AND 5 PLENARIESTHE OVERALL INSTITUTE EVALUATION RATED 4.5 ON A 5.0 SCALE--CONTINUING A RATING TREND OF 4.5 OR HIGHER 23 OF THE LAST 25 YEARS.OVER THE LAST 26 YEARS, THE INSTITUTE HAS SERVED ALMOST 20,000 ATTENDEES AND MORE THAN 13,000 INDIVIDUAL UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY DOCTORAL SCHOLARS; 80% OF WHOM GO ON TO FIND EMPLOYMENT ON CAMPUSES AS FACULTY, ADMINISTRATORS, OR POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS.

VOCEDSP:FROM JULY 10-13, 2019, SREB OFFERED ITS ANNUAL MAKING SCHOOLS WORK CONFERENCE THE NATION'S PREMIER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EVENT FOR IMPROVING INSTRUCTION AND INCREASING K-12 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN BALTIMORE, MD. MAKING SCHOOLS WORK CONFERENCE KEYNOTES, PROMISING PRACTICE SESSIONS, DEEP-DIVES, TABLE TALKS AND FLASH TALKS BROUGHT ATTENDEES TOGETHER TO SHARE STRATEGIES FOR CREATING CULTURES OF EXCELLENCE, ENCOURAGEMENT AND SUCCESS IN THEIR K-12 CLASSROOMS, SCHOOLS OR TECHNOLOGY CENTERS.A TOTAL OF 2,603 EDUCATORS, REPRESENTING 37 STATES, REGISTERED FOR THE CONFERENCE. ATTENDEES ATTENDED TWO GENERAL SESSIONS, AND THEY COULD CHOOSE FROM 466 BREAKOUT SESSIONS OR GENERAL SESSIONS. THE SESSIONS ADDRESSED ONE OR MORE OF FIVE OBJECTIVES.1. ENGAGING INSTRUCTION ENGAGE EACH STUDENT IN EVERY CLASSROOM THROUGH HIGH-QUALITY INSTRUCTION THAT INCORPORATES POWERFUL LITERACY AND MATHEMATICS PRACTICES AND PROJECT-BASED ASSIGNMENTS.2. ALIGNED CURRICULUM ENSURE EACH STUDENT HAS EQUITABLE ACCESS TO CHALLENGING ACADEMIC AND TECHNICAL CURRICULA THAT ALIGN INSTRUCTION, ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENTS WITH GRADE-LEVEL READINESS STANDARDS.3. CAREER PATHWAYS OFFER EACH STUDENT ACCESS TO CAREER PATHWAYS AND PROGRAMS OF STUDY THAT ALIGN WITH WORKFORCE NEEDS AND INCLUDE OPPORTUNITIES TO EARN INDUSTRY OR POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALS AND PARTICIPATE IN WORK-BASED LEARNING.4. SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT PROVIDE EACH STUDENT WITH THE PERSONALIZED CAREER GUIDANCE, ADVISEMENT, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORTS, AND EXTRA HELP AND ACCELERATED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES NEEDED TO GRADUATE READY FOR COLLEGE AND CAREERS.5. LEADERSHIP FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ENGAGE THE WHOLE SCHOOL COMMUNITY IN PROMOTING A CULTURE OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND CONTINUOUSLY USING DATA TO IDENTIFY PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE AND DEVELOP ACTION PLANS TO SOLVE THOSE PROBLEMS.THROUGHOUT THE CONFERENCE, SREB STAFF ATTENDED MANY OF THE BREAKOUT SESSIONS AND WROTE REPORTS ABOUT THE INFORMATION PRESENTED. THESE REPORTS WERE DEVELOPED INTO PROMISING PRACTICES NEWSLETTERS THAT WERE DISTRIBUTED PERIODICALLY THROUGHOUT THE 2019-2020 ACADEMIC YEAR. EDUCATORS CAN LEARN ABOUT PROMISING PRACTICES BY READING THE ARTICLES IN THE NEWSLETTERS.THE EXPENSES IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,040,821 INCLUDE $117,919 OF TRANSFER FUNDS FROM VOCEDSP TO NSDP FOR THE SALARIES OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT STAFF DURING THE WEEK OF THE 2019 MSW CONFERENCE.

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