The Coalition for Educational Excellence at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education provides innovative resources, research-based training, and technical assistance and consultation to school district leaders throughout the Mid-Atlantic region in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. 

 
Capitol Building in Washington, DC.
Ornate architecture on Penn's campus.
VAST Life students walking in front of Huntsman Hall
VAST Life students walking in front of Huntsman Hall

 

 

About the Coalition

Since 2004, the focus of our work has been to develop networks of school districts and school district leaders that are focused on eliminating achievement and attainment disparities.

Our members share a commitment to ensure that all students have equal opportunity to access high-level, meaningful, and engaging learning experiences, while actively eliminating institutional barriers in district and school policy and practice that limit or deny this access. 

A portrait of Tomea Sippio-Smith, smiling, on the left and Dayna Muñiz, smiling, on the right. Sippio-Smith’s was taken by Kyle Kielinski for Penn GSE. Muñiz’s photo was taken by Kira Luxon Pepe.

Leadership

Director Tomea Sippio-Smith (left) and Associate Director Dayna Muñiz (right) lead the Coalition for Educational Excellence at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Sippio-Smith has extensive leadership experience in education policy, advocacy, and coalition building. Muñiz leverages her program development, technical assistance, and practice experience. Together, they provide innovative programming, resources, research-based training, technical assistance and consulting to school district leaders, educators, and staff in the mid-Atlantic region.

Penn GSE Consortia

Since their inception in 2004, the Penn GSE Consortia have served well over 200 districts. We have partnered with multiple County Intermediate Units in Pennsylvania, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in New York, the College Board, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, and the Educational Testing Service to systemically address achievement and opportunity gaps from a big-picture perspective.   

Membership in the Penn GSE Consortia offers: 

  • Evidence-based professional learning from nationally-recognized scholars and practitioners.
  • Innovative strategies for addressing district-school organizational and instructional issues, and opportunity gaps for students.
  • Leadership learning opportunities for middle and high school students of varying abilities.
  • Enhanced recruitment of panoptic administrators and teachers.
  • Support in the development and implementation of opportunity-informed district strategic plans.
  • Sharing of leadership and learning experiences.
  • Regular, active collaboration with other consortium districts to examine policies and share promising practices.

Delaware Valley Consortium for Excellence (DVCE)

Founded in 2004, DVCE currently serves school districts and other entities in Greater Philadelphia and Delaware.

DVCE Job Board & Mailing List

We invite you to connect with us about the DVCE job board, a community resource for job postings. Please note that it is not managed by DVCE, and DVCE makes no guarantee about the positions listed or any aspects of employment. Please contact the posters directly for further questions or information. And please be sure to mention DVCE as your referral source as appropriate.

If you’d like to sign up for more DVCE news (in addition to job posting highlights), please sign up for the DVCE mailing list.

New Jersey Consortia for Excellence (NJCE)

In partnership with the New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA), we are providing support to school districts in the North, South, and Central regions of the state.

Contact Us

 
Tomea Sippio-Smith, Director 
Coalition for Educational Excellence
tsipp@upenn.edu
215-746-7375 

Dayna Muñiz, Associate Director
Coalition for Educational Excellence
dbmuniz@upenn.edu
215-746-3213