It was a pleasure once again to present at the recent National Title I Conference in Philadelphia. Education leaders from all over the country came together to offer ideas and inspiration for supporting Title I schools and student learning. Mark Blitz, CALL Project Director, presented on behalf of the CALL Team along with: Terry Hofer, Director, New York School & District Services at WestEd; Contann Dabney, Principal, PS 89 Dr. Lydia T. Wright Elementary School, Buffalo Public Schools; and Kyle Konold, Executive Director of The Delta Academy, North Las Vegas. 

The session, Using Action-Oriented School-Wide Leadership Data for School Improvement Planning, introduced the CALL System as well as highlighted the education leaders’ experiences using CALL for school improvement planning. Ms. Dabney told the story of using CALL in two different schools and how implementing CALL in her current position allowed her to learn about the school’s challenges and opportunities. Dr. Konold talked about his unique school, how it provides students with another chance to succeed outside of the mainstream schooling environment, and how he has used CALL to target areas for improvement. Contann Dabney discusses her work with CALL at the National Title One Conference 

Dr. Hofer emphasized the gains the schools have made from year-to-year moving from “red” to “green” in the CALL cluster view. The session attendees also had an opportunity to explore a sample CALL data set to experience how school and district leaders use action-based data.

This is a great conference that effectively communicates to state education leaders changes in education policy (such as ESSA), allows practitioners to share their success stories, and provides district leaders with ideas on how to support their schools. The CALL Team is already looking forward to next years National Title I Conference in Kansas City!