On September 23rd, 2017, the School of Education at UNC-Chapel Hill hosted a state-wide Educational Leadership Summit to identify and discuss existing and emerging challenges, with the aim of bringing a broad array of stakeholders together behind a more committed response and coordinated approach to addressing one or two major issues. High-ranking educational officials from across the political aisle and from across the state of North Carolina convened to broker partnerships, promote innovation, and strengthen leadership.

As such, every Superintendent in the state, every Dean of a School of Education (public and private), leaders from the UNC System General Administration, every member of the NCGA’s Education Appropriations Committee, every member of the State Board of Education, the state’s Superintendent, every member of DPI’s Leadership Team, multiple Presidents and Partners from related organizations, several Directors from private Foundations, and every faculty member in UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Education was invited to join us on campus for this unique opportunity prior to the UNC vs. Duke football game. Given the other opportunities for Saturday events across NC, there will be natural conflicts; the purpose was to be inclusive, recognizing a fall football Saturday!

The first Panel discussed “What” we know about good reading instruction and “Why” we aren’t implementing effective strategies that we know work to scale. The second panel discussed “Challenges for the State” beyond reading and how we might work together to better tackle one or two of these challenges.

Keith Poston from the Public School Forum served as the Moderator and Michael Priddy served as the MC. Panel members included Johanna Edens Anderson, Executive Director of The Belk Foundation; Representative Hugh Blackwell; John Denning, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Representative Craig Horn; Professor James Johnson, Jr.; RTI Senior Vice-President Kimberly O’Malley; Superintendents Terry Worrell and Ray Spain; Attorney Richard Schwartz, Schwartz and Shaw, LLC.; and William C. Walton III.