Focus On Results

Opening session for Focus on Results 2020.

Opening keynote address from Dr. Victor Rios.

Dr. Victor Rios is Associate Dean of Social Science and Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.   He received his Ph.D. at the University of California Berkeley in 2005.  Professor Rios has worked with local school districts to develop programs and curricula aimed at improving the quality of interactions between authority figures and youths.  Using his personal experience of living on the streets, dropping out of school, and being incarcerated as a juvenile—along with his research findings—he has developed interventions for marginalized students aimed at promoting personal transformation and civic engagement. These programs have been implemented in Los Angeles, California (Watts); juvenile detention facilities; and alternative high schools.  He is also the author of six books including, My Teacher Believes in Me: The Educator’s Guide to At-Promise Students (2019); Street Life: Poverty, Gangs, and a Ph.D. (2011); Buscando Vida, Encontrando Éxito: La Fuerza de La Cultura Latina en la Educación (2016); and Human Targets: Schools, Police, and the Criminalization of Latino Youth (2017).

Dr. Rios has been featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Ted Talks, the Oprah Winfrey Network, Primer Impacto, and National Public Radio.  He has had the honor of meeting President Obama and advising his administration on gun violence and policing.  His Ted Talk “Help for kids the education system ignores” has garnered over 1.4 Million views.  He is the subject of the documentary film The Pushouts (thepushouts.com).

Superintendent Panel

Dr. Stephanie Gregson is the Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction at the California Department of Education (CDE). Stephanie oversees the Instruction and Measurement Branch which houses the divisions leading work in accountability, curriculum, instruction, all statewide assessments, school and district interventions, and the collection and reporting of education data. Stephanie is also the CDE lead for the California system of support in collaboration with the State Board of Education and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. Stephanie has over 20 years of extensive experience in education, as she has been a classroom teacher, curriculum specialist, principal of an elementary school and a K-8 school, and a district administrator charged with leading a coherent system of curriculum, instruction, and assessment across all the schools within a district. She has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and a doctorate in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. She joined CDE in 2016 as the Director of the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division and lead the development of California’s curriculum frameworks that serve as the guidance for teachers and administrators in helping their students meet the standards, revising and developing the state standards, and lead the instructional materials state adoption process that is aligned to the standards and guidance of California’s curriculum frameworks. As Deputy Superintendent overseeing the state-wide level work of curriculum, instruction, assessment, continuous improvement, and accountability, she is able to offer a perspective that addresses the different levels within the education system focused on the teaching and learning aspects of a state that serves 6.2 million students speaking 92 languages in over 10,000 schools. 

Saturday keynote and activity with Dr. Matt Coleman

Dr. Matt Coleman is the Executive Director of Inflexion – a nonprofit consulting group that strives to help educators better equip students for success. His focus on secondary school systems change has produced demonstrable results, is rooted in organizational theory, and is informed by Matt’s extensive experience working at every level of the education system, as a teacher, principal, and district-level administrator.

Saturday lunch
Superintendent's Panel
CASBO Advocacy Group

Sunday Breakfast and FOR Team Time.

The goal of these collaborative sessions is to reflect on the solution reviews and workshops, as well as discuss how they might impact your district in solving an existing challenge, or launching a new initiative for your district.

Teams and individuals will have time to showcase the most interesting conversations and or potential solutions generated from the solution reviews.

Recognition, closing comments, and prize drawings.