Highlighting Technical Assistance at the National Title I Conference

This past Monday, I had the pleasure of leading a technical assistance (TA) session at the National Title I Conference in Tampa, Florida. In addition to sharing information on OESE’s TA plan and the changes we are making at the Department to better support states and districts, we also featured a “Response Panel” of three state directors at the session. The panel provided some immediate feedback on my TA presentation, offered suggestions for OESE on further improving TA, and discussed how, as state directors, they are rethinking TA themselves to support their local districts and staff.

One of the concrete tools I shared with all the participants of the session was the rubric we created to honestly assess ourselves on the quality and effectiveness of our TA. It was so great to hear reactions from panelists on the rubric – several said they wanted to develop something similar in their own states! That signals to me that we are on the right track in shifting our mindset within OESE to emphasize support for those on the ground, and I know we have big plans ahead as we continue to implement our TA plan.

In addition to the TA session, I also gave brief remarks at the Opening Session of the conference, which a local radio station covered here. They even posted a YouTube clip of the end of my speech, which you can watch below: