2023-2024 Advanced Education Policy Leadership Program (AEPLP)

Advanced Education Policy Leadership Consortium®  AEPLP

Program Mission

To engage state education policy program alumni in collaborating with peers across state lines to further enhance the knowledge and skills that support the development, adoption, and implementation of public policy to improve educational opportunities for all.

PROGRAM GOALS 

1. To advance to the strategic level the knowledge and skills acquired previously in state-level education policy programs.
2. To nurture and expand networking relationships among senior fellows across the Consortium states.
3. To increase awareness of, and engagement with, education policy initiatives, and implementation practices in the Consortium member states.
4. To better understand the complexity of school district (LEA), state, and federal education policy development, implementation and impact.
5. To enhance strategic leadership skills and develop the political sophistication necessary to successfully influence policy development, adoption, and implementation at the local, state and national levels.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE for a Consortium of Up to 35 Fellows 

In 2023-24, create one Consortium cohort of up to 35 Senior Fellows. The year-long program will include:

• Five monthly three-hour Zoom meetings held on Thursday mornings
• In-person Washington, DC symposium to be held September 21 and 22, 2023
• The completion of a written Policy Analysis document and oral presentation by collaborative groups 4-6 cross-state participants
• Optional plenary or state-specific Senior Fellow sessions

Advanced EPLP State Program Coordinators

Kansas/Missouri

• Tyson Elbert (Founder & Executive Director, AdvocacyBuild, LLC)
• Dr. Kenny Southwick (Executive Director, Cooperating School Districts of Greater Kansas City)

Massachusetts

• Dr. Chad d’Entremont (Executive Director, Rennie Center for Education Policy)

Minnesota

• Dan Loritz (Senior Fellow and President, Center for Policy Design)
• Dr. John Ward (Senior Fellow, Center for Policy Design)

New York

• Lisa Davis (Education Policy and Governance Consultant, Former Executive Director, Westchester Putnam School Boards Association)
• Dr. Robert Monson (Retired, formerly Senior Lecturer & Program Coordinator, Education Leadership Program, Teachers College, Columbia University)

Ohio

• Dr. Deborah Morin (Director, Center for Educational Leadership, Cleveland State University)

Pennsylvania

• Ronald Cowell, J.D. (Founder & Senior Fellow, Education Policy & Leadership Center)
  

Admission Process

Individuals who have completed a state-level education policy program or institute will be invited to participate in the 2023-24 Advanced EPLP. Invitations to participate will be sent by state Advanced EPLP coordinators on or before July 31, 2023.

To be considered for admission to the program, applicants will be required to submit a signed Applicant & Employer/Sponsor Signature Authorization Form committing the sponsoring/employing institution to provide release time and assigning responsibility for remuneration of the program fee and the in-person Symposium travel and expenses.

PROGRAM FEE

The program fee for 2023-24 is $1,600.00 per participant. The program fee covers tuition for the five Thursday Zoom sessions and the in-person Washington Symposium.

Estimated In-person Symposium Expenses:

The Symposium will be held on September 21-22, 2023, in Washington, DC. Senior Fellows (and/or their sponsoring organizations) will be responsible for the costs of transportation to Washington, hotel room expenses and any non-program meals.

AEPLP Program Activities for 2023-24:

2023-24 Theme: “Finding ‘Common Ground’ in our Educational Policy”

1.   Symposium on Federal Education Policy, September 21-22, 2023

• Thursday, September 21: Opening Symposium reception, dinner, and program (4:00 to 9:00 pm EST)
• Friday, September 22: Symposium sessions (8:00 am to 3:30 pm Eastern)

2.   Thursday Zoom Conversations

Note: Thursday Zoom sessions will run from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm Eastern.

• October 12: What is the Purpose of Public Education?
• December 7: Balancing the Roles of Federal, State and Local Policymakers and the Tensions Between Policymakers and Education Practitioners
• January 11: Leadership for Promoting Civil Discourse
• February 29: Legal, Moral, and Ideological Issues Related to Educational Equity and Opportunity
• April 11: Senior Fellows present their policy analysis projects

3.   Team Policy Analysis

• Collaborative groups of 4-6 cross-state Senior Fellows.

Deliverable: An “external-facing” written policy analysis and proposal, and an oral presentation, focusing on a significant issue with actionable recommendations that advance policy development, adoption and implementation at the local, state or national level.

Criteria for Successful Completion of the FELLOWSHIP

Senior Fellows will receive a certificate of completion after participating in all the following Program activities: a) all five Thursday Zoom meetings; b) the in-person Washington Symposium; and c) the active participation in the group education policy analysis project. An exception to this criteria may only be granted with the approval of the AEPLP program coordinators.

APPLICATION 2024/2025 OPENING APRIL 2024