ABOUT THE CONSORTIUM

> Overview and History
> 2007-08 Participating School Districts & IUs
> District Commitments
> Organizational Structure

OVERVIEW AND HISTORY

In May 2004 the Penn Center for Educational Leadership in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the School District of Cheltenham Township, and in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, initiated a project for developing and sustaining a regional network of 15 suburban school districts that would be committed to working together to enhance the achievement and well-being of all students.  In the past two years 8 additional districts have joined and are participating in collaborative learning and research around closing the achievement gaps.  As a result of our work together, our member districts seek to measurably and appreciably reduce the disparities in achievement and educational engagement between African American and Hispanic students and their Caucasian and Asian peers within individual districts and among our collective Consortium districts.

In 2004-05 we attained the commitment and engagement of fifteen regional suburban school districts throughout southeastern Pennsylvania and southwestern New Jersey that were willing to:

• acknowledge the nature of their achievement gaps,
• actively collaborate with other Consortium districts to discover, propose, and implement organizational and instructional strategies that would measurably close the gaps, and actively change school/district structures and practices that reinforce the gaps,
• develop annual plans to address local goals for closing the gap, and share promising effective practices with one another

Consortium districts have been dedicated to supporting one another in collectively understanding at the district level:

• the complex interaction of student-teacher instruction and personal relationships, students’ home, school and community experiences,
• district/school/classroom structures and policies that support and/or inhibit increasing the number of students of color among the districts’ “best and brightest,” and
• how we individually and collectively might begin to reduce our observed gaps.

In 2005-06 four new regional districts became members of the Consortium, including Collingswood, NJ, Princeton, NJ, Springfield Township, PA and Bristol Township, PA.

In 2006-07 we are joined by five additional districts including North Penn, PA, Norristown, PA, Morrisville, PA, Moorestown Township, NJ and Upper Merion, PA.

In 2007-08 we have become a tri-state initiative with the commitment and engagement of 25 regional school districts and 2 county intermediate units in southeastern Pennsylvania, southwestern New Jersey and Delaware.

2007-08 PARTICIPATING SCHOOL DISTRICTS & IUs

Abington School District                                                
Amy Sichel, Superintendent
Abington, PA   

Bensalem Township School District                                   
James Lombardo, Superintendent                               
Bensalem, PA

Brandywine School District                                   
James Scanlon, Superintendent                               
Claymont, DE

Bristol Township School District                                   
Ellen Budman, Acting Superintendent                               
Levittown, PA

Bucks County Intermediate Unit #22                                   
Barry Gallaso, Executive Director                               
Doylestown, PA

Centennial School District                                   
Michael Masko, Superintendent                               
Warminster, PA

Cheltenham Township School District                             
William Kiefer, Superintendent
Elkins Park, PA

Cherry Hill Public Schools                                             
David Campbell, Superintendent
Cherry Hill, NJ

Coatesville Area School District                                  
Richard Como, Superintendent   
Coatesville, PA  

Collingswood School District                  
Scott Oswald, Superintendent
Collingswood, NJ

Delaware County Intermediate Unit #25                                  
Christopher McGinley, Executive Director  
Morton, PA

Kennett Consolidated School District
Rudy Karkosak, Superintendent                                       Kennett Square, PA

Lindenwold Public Schools                                  
Geraldine Carroll, Superintendent   
Lindenwold, NJ

Lower Merion School District                                          
Jamie Savedoff, Superintendent
Ardmore, PA    

Moorestown Township Public Schools          
John Bach, Superintendent
Moorestown, NJ

Morrisville Borough School District
Beth Yonson, Superintendent                                       
Morrisville, PA

North Penn School District                                             
Robert Hassler, Superintendent
Lansdale, PA    

Norristown Area School District
Cliff Rogers, ActingSuperintendent
Norristown, PA

Pottsgrove School District                                           
Bradley Landis, Superintendent
Pottstown, PA

Princeton Regional Schools                                           
Judith Wilson, Superintendent
Princeton, NJ

Rose Tree Media School District                                    
Denise Kerr, Superintendent
Media, PA     

Springfield School District                                   
James Capolupo, Superintendent
Springfield, PA                

Springfield Township School District                                   
Roseann Nyiri, Superintendent
Oreland, PA

Upper Dublin School District                                          
Michael Pladus, Superintendent                                        
Maple Glen, PA

Upper Merion School District
Melissa Jamula, Superintendent                                            
King of Prussia, PA

West Chester Area School District                                 
Alan Elko, Superintendent
West Chester, PA

Wissahickon School District
Stanley Durtan, Superintendent                                             
Ambler, PA

DISTRICT COMMITMENTS

Representatives of the Superintendent’s Steering Committee convened in May 2005 to define what they deem to be the critical and fundamental conditions of work for enhancing student achievement and closing the achievement gaps.

All Consortium districts are committed to attending to the following conditions in their efforts to enhance the achievement of all students, and most specifically increase the achievement, engagement and future success of their students of color.

• Disaggregating all student performance or outcome data by race/ethnicity, gender, English language proficiency, disabilities/special needs, and socio-economic status at the district, school and classroom levels
• Collecting and analyzing data that assesses attitudes and perceptions of students, parents, teachers, administrators and staff relative to achievement and school success in order to better understand the nature of the gaps within the district
• Enhancing expectations for success and instilling greater rigor in course content and establishing higher cognitive expectations for all students
• Examining and adjusting district and school policies, organizational structures, grouping practices and student placement processes so as to insure underachieving students’ access to rigorous courses, curriculum and support
• Enhancing positive relationships between adults and students by attending to the cultural competencies of educators and the social/cultural dynamics of the school and/or district
• Continuously examining issues of student motivation, expectations, and engagement from multiple instructional and cultural perspectives, and change practices
• Making school/job embedded professional learning, ongoing school/classroom assessment of student progress and program evaluation of instructional and support programs consistent practices in the organization
• Establishing and promoting entry level expectations for preschool learning experiences with service providers, parents, and care givers

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Policy decisions and strategic directions are facilitated in monthly gatherings of a Superintendent’s Steering Committee that is composed of the 25 member districts' superintendents and 2 intermediat units' executive directors and/or their designee. These Steering Committee meetings have proven to be a rich forum for district administrator sharing and learning about promising administrative, classroom and support strategies for attending the gaps, as well as addressing our shared challenges and opportunities for continuous improvement.

Daily operations and planning are co-directed by Dr. Robert Jarvis, Director of K-12 Outreach at the Penn Center for Educational Leadership in the Penn Graduate School of Education and Dr. Claudia Lyles, Director of Curriculum in Cherry Hill Public Schools.