State Leaders' Summit:

Dynamic Strategies for Student Outcomes:
Preparing 21st Century Learners

April 21 - 23, 2010

Harrah's Council Bluffs
Council Bluffs, Iowa

2010 PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT AND INFORMATION

Conference Mission and Purpose:
The Mission of the National Summit on Deaf Education is to promote and advance knowledge and leadership through professional and parent stakeholder partnerships that result in collaborative state education systems and improved outcomes for children and youth who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The National Summit on Deaf Education joins leaders in education and administration with parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing for the purpose of designing educational systems and services that will successfully launch every deaf or hard of hearing student from birth to young adulthood to his/her highest academic and social potential.

The theme for this year's Summit showcases an opportunity for state teams to learn strategies for using current research and effective strategies to make decisions for improvement as they are applied to accountability for student outcomes in deaf education. This activity provides the states with an opportunity to apply the information presented toward addressing the goals of the National Agenda.

Onsite Schedule (Draft)
(Central time)
April 21 - Kick-off at 5:00 p.m.
April 22 - 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
April 23 - 9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Expected Outcomes of the Summit:

• Participants will connect with others across the country and will leave with ideas and information that they've learned from interactive conversations.
• States will have formed or strengthened their stakeholder teams that include parents, and state department of education, state school, and regional program leaders, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, higher education representatives, and other critical players.
• Participants will identify current research and effective strategies to be used for improvement planning and selection of improvement strategies/programs as they are applied to accountability for student outcomes in deaf education.
• State teams will leave with an updated action plan, including review of critical team members, actions needed to ensure a functional team, and steps for moving forward with improvement planning.
• Teams will assess their state's progress in meeting the goals of the National Agenda.

Registration
Online registration is now available for on-site state teams, remote teams, and individual participants. Registration Link

Conference Agenda:
The agenda for the 2010 State Leaders' Summit is available.Download the Draft agenda (doc format 42kb)

Who Should Attend?
The Summit is dedicated to creating an environment where vested parties work together. Since 2005, this unique conference provides the opportunity for planning within states, as well as shared problem-solving across states, to address the goals of the National Agenda. To effectively plan, we strongly encourage the participation of state teams that are comprised of key leaders and stakeholders who represent a variety of perspectives. Opportunities to discuss state plans will be provided as part of the Summit agenda. We recommend that the state teams include representation from:

• Parents (Note: those with a non-parental professional role cannot be considered as the parent representative)
• State Department of Education
• State (or other) Special Schools and Programs for the Deaf

Additional team members to consider include representatives from higher education, early childhood deaf education, local programs, or others who have a vested interest and potential influence in improving educational outcomes for children and youth who are deaf or hard of hearing.

We also welcome Summit participants representing the groups listed above who are from states that have not yet formed a team. Discussion sessions will be structured to assist these participants in identifying critical issues in the state, involving additional leaders and stakeholders, and outlining a preliminary plan toward meeting the goals of the National Agenda. Participating in the Summit this year could serve as the "seed" for future state leadership team activities.

Representatives from national organizations or agencies who are not part of a state team may also be interested in participating in the year's Summit. Many state teams have established relationships with related organizations and benefit from working together in a collaborative manner.

Parent Participation:
In every state there are parents committed to systemic improvement, and their perspectives must be included when addressing the critical issues in deaf education. Therefore, we strongly encourage parents to be part of each state team. Start now to identify your parent leader! If you are a parent interested in this opportunity, make yourself known to the state department of education and/or superintendent of the school for the deaf in your state. Please note that parent leaders should be there in the role of parent and not as a professional in another capacity who also happens to be a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing.

As an incentive to increase parent involvement, the Summit is offering a limited number of parent participation stipends. These funds are intended to offset some of the costs associated with traveling to the Summit. Up to $500 will be available per parent applicant. The Parent Participation Stipend is available on a first-come, first-served basis to states that have exhausted all other means to cover the cost of bringing a parent leader to the Summit. Early registration is encouraged. Parent-leader stipend application (doc format 31kb)

Hotel Accommodations:
A block of rooms is being held at the Harrah's Council Bluff resort, at the rate of $99/night. To receive this special rate you must make your reservation before April 5, 2010 by calling 1-712-329-6000 or 1-800-427-7247 and specify your participation with the State Leader's Summit with the group code S04TENN. You may also make your reservation online by using this link: http://www.harrahs.com/CheckGroupAvailability.do?propCode=COU&groupCode=S04TENN. The hotel is located at One Harrah's Boulevard; Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501.

Please note: If you also plan to attend the CEASD Conference on April 23-26, 2010, you will need to make reservations under two different room blocks. Please note on your reservation that you have a back-to-back reservation (B2B), and let the front desk know when you check in. Reservations for CEASD may be made by calling the hotel and using the group code S04CEA or by using this link: http://www.harrahs.com/CheckGroupAvailability.do?propCode=COU&groupCode=S04CEAS.

Other Summit Information:
Information about the hotel and location: http://www.harrahscouncilbluffs.com/
Past Summit notes: www.ndepnow.org

Summit Sponsors:
The State Leaders' Summit is very grateful to several groups and organizations that are providing additional support and in-kind contributions this year.

• Council of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD)
• Hands & Voices
• Iowa School for the Deaf
• Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
• Technical Assistance Coordination Center (TACC)

For additional information, please contact Marcia Kolvitz at Marcia.kolvitz@pepnet.org.