Presented by Jay McTighe, Educator and Author, McTighe and Associates; Dr. Kenneth Hamilton, Superintendent, Mount Vernon City School District (NY); and Dr. Jeff Gorman, Deputy Superintendent, Mount Vernon City School District (NY)
Moderated by Dr. Valerie Truesdale, Assistant Executive Director, AASA, The School Superintendents Association

Hosted by AASA, The Superintendents Association 
AASA’s Leadership Network, providing premier professional learning for educational leaders

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Join nationally recognized author Jay McTighe as he describes ways to design and deliver a modern curriculum that focuses on engaging student thinking around authentic and culturally relevant tasks. Mount Vernon City Schools (NY) Superintendent, Dr. Kenneth Hamilton, discuss his district’s vision and actions for systemically changing traditional school processes, policies, and practices. Mount Vernon’s Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Jeff Gorman, share student and staff engagement practices that reach all diverse learners by offering a culturally relevant curriculum and project-based assessments where students have voice and choice.

Essential questions:

• What are the characteristics of a modern curriculum that engages all students in authentic and culturally relevant tasks?
• How can districts create assessments for measuring what matters most (not just those objectives that are easiest to test and grade)?
• What instructional shifts are needed to engage students in deep learning?
• How do educators engage in personal self-analysis and begin courageous conversations about equity?
• What actions can districts take to ensure that for ALL students to thrive?

Viewers will learn about strategies to address systemic disparities and inequities in order to benefit all students.

About the Presenters

Jay McTighe brings a wealth of experience developed during a rich and varied career in education. He served as Director of the Maryland Assessment Consortium, a state collaboration of school districts working together to develop and share formative performance assessments. Prior to this position, Jay was involved with school improvement projects at the Maryland State Department of Education where he helped lead Maryland’s standards-based reforms, including the development of performance-based statewide assessments. He also directed the development of the Instructional Framework, a multimedia database on teaching. Well known for his work with thinking skills, Jay has coordinated statewide efforts to develop instructional strategies, curriculum models, and assessment procedures for improving the quality of student thinking. In addition to his work at the state level, Jay has experience at the district level in Prince George’s County, Maryland, as a classroom teacher, resource specialist, and program coordinator. He also directed a state residential enrichment program for gifted and talented students.

Jay is an accomplished author, having co-authored 17 books, including the award-winning and best-selling Understanding by Design series with Grant Wiggins. His books have been translated into 12 languages. Jay has also written more than 50 articles and book chapters, and has been published in leading journals, including Educational Leadership (ASCD) and Education Week. See his books here. Jay has an extensive background in professional development and is a regular speaker at national, state, and district conferences and workshops. He has conducted workshops in 47 states within the United States, in seven Canadian provinces, and internationally to educators in 35 countries on six continents.

Jay received his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary, earned his master’s degree from the University of Maryland, and completed post-graduate studies at The Johns Hopkins University. He was selected to participate in the Educational Policy Fellowship Program through the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, D.C., and served as a member of the National Assessment Forum, a coalition of education and civil rights organizations advocating reforms in national, state, and local assessment policies and practices. Since education is a “learning” profession, Jay set a learning goal when he was 57 years of age to be surfing by 60. He did it!

Dr. Kenneth R. Hamilton completed his undergraduate degree at Seton Hall University where he majored in criminal justice and minored in education. He studied advanced level courses in fulfillment of his Master of Arts degree at Seton Hall University and Jersey City State University. He also completed leadership institutes at Harvard University and Princeton University, before completing doctoral studies at Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Hamilton was awarded a fellowship grant by the Geraldine Dodge Foundation at Princeton University to study the effects of Year-Round Schooling. In 2008, he was appointed as a U.S. Delegate to visit China to observe educational programs and most recently was the recipient of the NAACP Distinguished Educators Award and the Sybil Yastrow Superintendent’s Grant. He is an adjunct professor at William Paterson University and a state-approved mentor for the NJ State School Administrators’ Residency Program.

After being recognized for his ability to initiate change and spearhead improved student outcomes, he was promoted to principal of Clinton Elementary School where he implemented one of the first mandatory school uniforms policies in the State of NJ and increased student performance by 83% in four years. He was later hired as the assistant superintendent of Schools in Cherry Hill, New Jersey where his responsibilities included supervision for middle school programs, district-wide professional development, minority achievement initiative (closing the achievement gap) and diversity recruitment. He then became Superintendent of Schools in Westhampton Public Schools where he was recognized for implementation of several programs designed to improve student outcomes. Dr. Hamilton presented before the NJ State Senate to justify Senate Bill S2307, a bill requesting equitable state funding. In July of 2014, Dr. Hamilton was appointed Superintendent of the Mount Vernon City School District where his leadership is creating new synergy focused on community engagement and a quest for excellence.

Entering his 32nd year in public education, Dr. Jeff Gorman serves as the deputy superintendent of schools for the Mount Vernon City School District in Westchester County, NY. Bringing a passion for learning and a commitment every child can achieve at high levels has been at the forefront of his work. He earned his doctoral degree in May 2011 from Rowan University and focused his dissertation on the effects of differentiated instruction on student achievement. Among his other professional accomplishments, Dr. Gorman has been a pioneer in the area of technology integration into public schools. He is one of a select group of superintendents via AASA’s Transformational Leadership Consortium Network, viewing and sharing best practices in digital content and personalized learning at a national and international level. He has worked with the most heralded experts in the field of curriculum and instruction who include but is not limited to Carol Ann Tomlinson, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Robert Marzano, and Charlotte Danielson amongst others. He has presented at several national conferences over the years on topics ranging from professional coaching, to improving leadership, to creating professional learning communities as a means of job-embedded professional development. His current focus is on transformational reform with an emphasis on equity and equality by improving STEAM education, literacy and mathematics, and multiple pathways to graduation through the creation of a college- and career-ready environment for the students in Mt. Vernon.

About the Host

Dr. Valerie Truesdale joined AASA early in 2019 as the assistant executive director responsible for guiding leadership development services and programs. With years of experience in the superintendency and roles in instructional technology, she knows that AASA’s Leadership Network can be a substantial resource for school leaders trying to keep pace with the rapidly changing delivery of K-12 education.

Join the Leading for Equity community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

The AASA Leadership Network drives superintendent success, innovation and growth, shaping the future of public education while preparing students for what’s next. We are the largest, most diverse network of superintendents in America. Passionate and committed, we connect educational leaders to the professional learning, leadership development, relationships and partnerships they need to ensure a long career of impact.