Council of the Great City Schools

Categorical grants - the Council received two new categorical grants and contract in fy22-23, including support from 1) the hewlett foundation (acct 27) for support of the development of mathematics online learning modules; and 2) additional funding from the wallace foundation (acct 61) to continue providing technical assistance to the school board of districts participating in the equity-centered pipeline initiative. Continued on page 45.the organization also operated: 1) the second year of the gates foundation grant for support of large school districts in covid-19 recovery by helping build internal district capacity through strengthening three core processes planning, curriculum development/materials selection and procurement (acct45); 2) the second year of the wallace foundation grant (acct 61); 3) the second and final year of the wallace foundation grant to provide districts in the principal pipeline learning community with free consultation on the use of federal funds to achieve their strategic objectives (acct64); and 4) the second year of the Council chief state school officers (ccsso) to support the coalition to advance future student success by serving as principal partner to execute strategy and dissemination work that directly supports the success of the students and school districts (acct83); ongoing projects continue for contracts with: 1) the university of California at irvine to participate in a longitudinal study of student achievement based on professional development on the teaching of writing skills; 2) the international society for technology in education (iste) to lead and coordinate district level interoperability and procurement listening tour and roundtable efforts and create the foundational components of a rubric/guidelines in subsequent works and anticipated uses; 3) the rand corporation for administering american school district panel (asdp) surveys; and 4) the national assessment governing board (governing board) for a trial urban district assessment (tuda) advisory group.

General membership services this is the combined organizational services of the Council of the Great City Schools, including legislation, communications, research, academic achievement, task forces, and management services. In each of these areas, the Council conducted over 1,000 regular zoom calls to connect member districts to peers and support during the year.continued on pagelegislation--the Council helps shape legislation to strengthen the quality of schooling for the nation's urban children by providing information to federal agencies and to the membership on federal activity. In 2022-23, the Council-- - successfully advocated for the passage of the bipartisan safer communities act, which included more than $2 billion in additional funding for school safety and school mental health professionals, to help address community violence and its impact on our students and staff. - submitted public comments on the u.s. department of education's proposed changes to both title ix regulations and its athletics component, highlighting the importance of protecting students from sex-based discrimination and outlining students' rights to participate in athletics regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. - supported the successful passage of an additional $850 million in title i and an additional $850 million in idea for federal fy 2023, one of the largest single-year increases in more than twenty years for both programs. - filed an amicus brief with the u.s. supreme court in higher education admissions cases, urging the court to retain the currently allowed race-conscious admissions procedures due to the persistent role segregation and educational inequality have played in creating and maintaining racial and ethnic achievement gaps among k-12 students. - advocated for the successful passage of the keep kids fed act, which provided additional funding for every school breakfast and lunch served in the 2022-23 school year. - filed multiple sets of comments encouraging the federal communications commission (fcc) to leverage the e-rate program to address growing cybersecurity needs in k-12 Schools. - disseminated information to member school districts about the opportunities for increased revenue through the school-based medicaid program for special education services provided to eligible students with disabilities. - submitted public comments to the u.s. department of agriculture (usda) on the proposed revisions to meal pattern standards for child nutrition programs, highlighting the need for flexibility in providing attractive, healthy, and nutritious meals to students. - hosted a series of legal webinars with husch blackwell on issues affecting urban school districts, including the impact of higher education affirmative action cases on k-12 Schools and district strategies for mitigating and responding to student injuries and death. - launched a major survey on urban school districts' investments to improve learning environments and support students' academic and social-emotional needs using elementary and secondary school emergency relief (esser) funds. - participated in a working group with the federal bureau of justice assistance to provide the perspective of urban Schools in building safe school environments and the need to support students through mental health challenges. - provided dozens of briefings to cgcs school boards, superintendents, chief financial officers, government relations directors, general counsels, and other senior district officials on the status of federal covid-19 funding, including elementary and secondary school emergency relief (esser) funds; congressional proposals affecting curriculum, notification, and data privacy requirements; and updates to federal agency guidance, regulations, and waivers. - hosted the 2023 annual legislative/policy conference in Washington, d.c., with remarks from u.s. secretary of education miguel cardona and actor and education activist levar burton, as well as legislative briefings and q&a sessions with staff from congress, the u.s. department of education, the centers for medicare and medicaid services, and the centers for disease control and prevention. - fielded scores of legislative and regulatory questions and interceded for member school districts to resolve problems with various federal agencies.communicationsthe Council works to give the public and the press a balanced and accurate view of the challenges, developments, and success of urban public Schools. In 2022-23 the Council - participated in the release of the 2022 trial urban district assessment (tuda) results in reading and mathematics. - issued more than a dozen press releases on Council activities, as well as statements on critical current events impacting the lives of urban schoolchildren. - fielded scores of inquiries from national and regional media outlets such as the new york times, Washington post, education week, boston globe, usa today, associated press, and u.s. news and world report. - redesigned the Council's website to provide an easy-to-navigate, more user-friendly visual experience. - launched a marketing and digital campaign to communicate the success of the Council's member districts in using arp funds to address learning needs and accelerate interventions in response to covid-19. - actively participated in meetings with the coalition to advance future student success, an effort to ensure arp funds are spent effectively and efficiently. - coordinated a national town hall meeting on politics and public education moderated by beth frerking, the editor-in-chief for education week. - participated in a panel at the education writers association conference and attended the south by southwest edu conference. - hosted the 22nd annual public relations executives meeting in chicago. - coordinated the cgcs-bernard harris math and science scholarships program. - emailed eight issues of the Council's award-winning digital newsletter, urban educator, which received the 2023 award of excellence from the national school public relations association. - coordinated the green-garner award ceremony, honoring the nation's top urban educator.researchtimely data collection and analysis allow the Council to prepare comprehensive reports, predict trends, and assess various reforms and practices on student performance. In 2022-23, the Council- convened monthly research, evaluation, and assessment meetings with member districts to discuss strategies for advancing academic recovery in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic and best practices in leading research in urban school districts. - convened monthly equity leader meetings with member districts to discuss district strategies for addressing gaps in academic achievement and opportunity. - launched a series of chief performance and accountability officer monthly meetings with member districts to discuss best practices in leading accountability programs and driving the systemic use of data in urban school districts. - convened monthly consortia meetings with member districts who use three formative assessments (nwea, curriculum associates, and renaissance) to promote the sharing of information, best practices, and data among users of each assessment. - supported tuda districts with analyzing and interpreting 2022 naep results and trends during a naep pre-release workshop and provided follow-up assistance to specific districts as needed. - developed interactive data visualization tools designed to provide users with streamlined information on naep results. These dashboards were designed for use by district leaders in Council districts participating in tuda, although they are public dashboards that can be used by any group of stakeholders. - co-developed a naep communication guide, in partnership with the national assessment governing board and with the input of several communication and research directors from Council member districts, to help tuda districts best contextualize, understand, and communicate naep results. - analyzed naep and academic kpi data to assess the progress of young men and women of color across Council member districts and to document disproportionality in academic and behavioral outcomes for young men and women of color. the analysis was shared at the Council's males of color task force meeting, meeting of the black and latina young women and girls task force, and in the annual academic key performance indicators report. - continued the organization's partnership with the rand corporation through the administration of two american school district panel national surveys designed to capture and convey the perspective of urban district superintendents and leaders from across the country on topics of importance in the field.

Meetings and conferences -the Council held eight in-person conferences and meetings in fy22-23. the two largest conferences were the annual fall conference and the spring legislative/policy conference. the annual fall conference was held on october 19-23, 2022, in orlando, fl and was attended by some 1,000 big-city public school superintendents, school board members, senior administrators, and deans of colleges of education.for the first time in two years, the Council of the Great City Schools' annual fall conference was held in person. Continued on page 46.hosted by orange county public Schools, the five-day conference was held in orlando, fla., october 19-23 under the banner "destination to success: innovation for a new era in public education." In a town hall meeting moderated by beth frerking, the editor-in-chief for education week, several urban education leaders discussed the issues of politics and public education. the town hall panel also featured a student: mackenzie riggins, a senior at evans high school in orange county public Schools, who voiced her concern about the lack of transportation for students to attend after-school programs. "they can't try to better their education, and they can't try to get the help they need from their teachers," said riggins. "they're forced to go home because of limited resources. So, i feel as if that's an issue that needs to be talked about and brought up in the conversation." In her keynote address, social justice activist brittany packnett cunningham praised the work of educators as not just a job, not just a vocation" but a calling. "if education is a calling, then you've agreed to answer that call and specialize in the wholly impossible," cunningham told big-city school leaders. Also addressing the conference was jose antonio vargas, the author of "dear america, notes of an undocumented citizen", who talked about his experience as an undocumented immigrant and how educators can play a vital role in the national conversation on immigration by ensuring Schools are welcoming, supportive places for students and their families. Conferees also heard from cnn chief medical correspondent and neurosurgeon sanjay gupta. He said that among the many lessons to be learned from the covid-19 pandemic was that there needs to a robust and comprehensive pandemic preparedness plan like that established by president george w. bush. That plan included virus hunters the world over and support for universal vaccines, but it faded in the years before covid-19 emerged. According to gupta, "there's an obligation for every individual, as well to take care of ourselves as best we can, physically, mentally and spiritually. We have more evidence than ever that it works. "in addition, urban school superintendents, administrators, board members, and deans of colleges of education assembled in Washington, d.c. for the Council's annual legislative/policy conference on march 18-21, 2023 to discuss the education priorities of the new congress. Conferees heard from u.s. education secretary miguel cardona. Actor, director, and children's literacy advocate levar burton joined documentary filmmaker jenny mackenzie and reading advocate kareem weaver in a discussion of mackenzie's documentary "the rights to read". Other job-alike meetings were held by the organization during fy22-23. These sessions included meetings of the organization's public relations executives, curriculum and research directors, chief financial officers, hr/personnel directors, directors, chief operating officers, bilingual, immigrant/refugee education directors, tuda task force advisory committee, and chief information officers.

Other programs: strategic support teams, other special projects - - conducted in-person governance training sessions in albuquerque, anchorage, aurora, broward county, buffalo, charleston, charlotte-mecklenburg, cincinnati, columbus, des moines, jefferson county, miami-dade, philadelphia, pittsburgh, portland, sacramento, san antonio, san diego, san francisco, seattle, st. paul, and tulsa.- conducted strategic support teams to review the human resources operations in cincinnati, sacramento, and st. louis.- conducted strategic support teams to review the information technology operations in columbus.- conducted strategic support team to review the instructional operations in little rock.- conducted strategic support team to review the management services, facilities and operations in indianapolis, boston, charlotte-mecklenburg, and philadelphia.- conducted strategic support team to review the special education services in boston and san antonio.- conducted strategic support team to review the transportation services in boston and st. louis.- conducted strategic support team to review the safety and security operations in boston and houston.- conducted strategic support team to review the procurement operations in montgomery county, maryland.the Council produced a comprehensive report on each of these reviews with detailed recommendations on how to improve school-district performance and operations.continued the michael casserly urban school executive leadership institute which is designed for individuals who meet the highest professional standards and have the attributes to assume senior executive positions as chief information and chief finance officers to take on the challenges that large urban school districts face.professional learning platform. the Council continues to support the implementation of professional development courses on elevating instruction for english learners in ela/eld and mathematics. In addition to online course content, districts have also received support from course experts to review units of study, discuss implementation, and provide training to teachers. A series on writing instruction for english learners using cognitive strategies is under development through collaboration with the writing project at the university of California, irvine.

Other special projects