Building Education Partnerships:

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• Building Education Partnerships
• The State Alliance Model
• June 19, 2007
• AACTE Summer Leadership Institute

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Learning First Alliance

• Permanent partnership of 17 leading education
  associations with more than 10 million members
  dedicated to improving student learning in
  Americas public schools. Founded in 1997
• Members
• American Association of Colleges for Teacher
  Education
• American Association of School Administrators
• American Association of School Personnel
  Administrators
• American Federation of Teachers
• American School Counselor Association
• Association for Supervision and Curriculum
  Development
• Association of School Business Officials
  International
• Council of Chief State School Officers
• National Association of Elementary School
  Principals
• National Association of Secondary School
  Principals
• National Association of State Boards of Education
• National Education Association
• National Middle School Association
• National School Boards Association
• National School Public Relations Association
• National PTA
• Phi Delta Kappa International

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Why an Alliance?

• Public ed. associations often hang separately
• Others control the national conversation on
  education
• Associations should hang together
• Greater collective power
• Unity of purpose
• If we dont, who will?

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Learning First Alliance Goals

• Improve student learning
• Create alignment between national and state
  efforts
• Increase public support for public education

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Past Alliance Work

• Common stance on effective reading instruction
• Common stance on effective math instruction
• Shared model for district-wide improvement
• A shared framework for staffing high-poverty,
  low-performing schools
• Publications available at www.learningfirst.org.

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A New Direction

• March summit of public education leaders
• Renewed sense of urgency
• New skill demands
• Threats to public education
• Need for a compelling vision

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A New Direction

• New Marching Orders
• Improve the national conversation on public
  education
• Expand the state alliance network
• LFA Next Steps
• Coordinated communications strategy
• Strengthen state network

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State Learning First Alliances

• State-level partnerships that roughly mirror
  national alliance
• Combine resources
• Develop common ground
• Speak with a common voice
• Part of LFA network

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State Learning First Alliances

• Seven current alliances
• Alabama
• Arizona
• Kansas
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Ohio
• Washington State

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State Alliance Achievements

• Sample achievements
• Arizona Common positions on NCLB reauthorization
• Alabama Communications campaign
• Kansas Public engagement
• Michigan New standards and assessments

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State Alliance Achievements

• Sample achievements, cont.
• Minnesota Define excellent school finance
• Ohio Schools to watch
• Washington State Study of K-12 education finance

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State Alliance Benefits

• Greater collective clout
• Others cannot divide and conquer
• Strong relationships among education leaders
• Economies of scale
• Participation in a network

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Strong State Alliances

• Focus on big long-term goals as well as
  short-term needs
• KS First in teaching learning
• AL Change the national conversation on
  education
• Leave differences at the door

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Strong State Alliances

• Commit to common purpose over narrow
  organizational goals
• Commit necessary resources
• Does not have to be money
• Have one or two champions who maintain the focus

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State/National Collaboration

• Collaborate on national communications strategy
• Help carry common messages and narratives
• Help shape messages
• Inform national LFA strategy through regular
  consultation

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State Alliance Expansion

• We need more state alliances!
• Start an alliance in your state
• LFA can help
• Strategy
• Technical assistance
• Mentoring from existing alliances

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Learn More about Alliances

• See www2.learningfirst.org/summit/ and click on
  State Alliance Tools
• Username lfa
• Password learning
• Contact Claus von Zastrow at vonzastrowc_at_learningf
  irst.org
• Contact State Alliance Liaison Marceta Reilly at
  marcetar_at_aol.com

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• Thank you
• Claus von Zastrow
• 202 296-5220
• vonzastrowc_at_learningfirst.org