First Summer Institute for 34 LAUSD LEARN Cohort I schools held at Kellogg West Center for Continuing Education at Cal Poly Pomona.

Commencement Ceremonies for LAUSD LEARN Cohort I schools held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in Downtown Los Angeles.

Bay Area Office opened to broaden network of school reform practitioners engaging in whole school change.

SMP website launched.

Academy Programs targeted for LAUSD LEARN schools are put in place:  Futures (Assistant Principals), Retro (new LEARN Principals and Lead Teachers) and Renaissance (non-LEARN schools exploring opportunities to participate in LEARN training).

High Potential Practices Conference held at Lincoln High School (LAUSD) for all LAUSD LEARN school stakeholders.

Dan Chernow hired as new Executive Director after the departure of founding Executive Director, Dan Katzir.

First All-SMP Retreat held at the Four Points Sheraton in Ventura, CA.

First Instructional Leadership Institute – Literacy Links – is held for LAUSD elementary schools.

Facilitator Training program for LAUSD’s Polytechnic Annenberg Family of Schools begins.

Organizational mission and vision statements are defined.

School representatives and community members from Inglewood Unified School District hold weekend retreat on UCLA campus designed focus their efforts on refining and implementing their Strategic Plan. This is SMP’s first, non-LAUSD client.

Beginning of two-year Administrator Development Training contract with South Pasadena Unified School District.

First in a year-long series of Diversity Training sessions is held for over 800 LAUSD Central Office Personnel.

Local superintendents visit campus for SMP’s first Superintendents’ Symposium.

Beginning of preliminary work with Baldwin Park Unified School District.

LAUSD Financial Managers Training begins.

The Institute at Indian Hill presents its Report of Findings on SMP’s work with LAUSD LEARN Cohort IV schools.

Beginning of long-term contract with LAUSD School-Based (SBM) Goals 2000 schools.

Summer Institute for representatives from LAUSD’s Division of Instruction is held at the Riviera Resort in Palm Springs, CA.

Office moves from Information Studies Building to Moore Hall.

First in a series of Saturday Administrator Technology Training sessions is held.

Beginning of extensive work with over 200 LAUSD schools choosing SBM as their whole school change (reform) pathway.

LAUSD’s Eagle Rock / Franklin / Marshall Cluster Principals’ Training begins.

UCLA Principals’ Center moves from Center X to UCLA SMP under the leadership of Hal Hyman.

Residential Learning Session for LAUSD’s San Fernando Family of Schools is held at Casa Sirena Hotel in Oxnard, CA.

SMP staff coordinate logistics for international Advanced Methods Institute held on the UCLA campus and sponsored by the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies.

SMP hosts UC-LABI (Los Angeles Basin Initiative) at the Doral Resort in Palm Springs, CA – a training component of the University of California’s Outreach Initiative.

SMP faculty design and facilitate the School Administrator session at the inaugural Reading by 9 Teachers’ Conference, hosted by the Los Angeles Times and held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Organization is approved by the California Department of Education to serve as an External Evaluator in the State’s Immediate Intervention / Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP) an outgrowth of the Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999. SMP partners with 25 California schools in its first year as an II/USP provider.

Beginning of one-year contract with LAUSD’s North Hollywood Family of Schools to provide facilitation and leadership training.

UCLA SMP staff and faculty coordinate logistics and join the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, MO in the design of the GSEIS Entrepreneurial Leadership Development for the Education Community Conference, held at La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, CA.

Organization is approved as a provider for the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program (CSRDP) – as provided through the Obey-Porter federal grant and the State of California.

Beginning of two-year contract with El Monte Union High School District to support the efforts of its three high schools to meet CSRD improvement goals and build leadership capacity and alignment across the school’s leadership team.

SMP and the LAUSD School Reform Office host all-LEARN school celebration at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, attended by principal, teacher, parent, and other stakeholder representatives from 374 LAUSD LEARN schools.

The School Administrator (published by The American Association of School Administrators), features guest column entitled “School Reform by Any Name,” written by SMP Executive Director, Dan Chernow.

UCLA SMP takes on coordination and facilitation responsibilities for Critical Friends Groups (CFG) New Coaches Institutes from the Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project (LAAMP). With these new responsibilities, UCLA SMP becomes one of 32 Centers of Activity affiliated with the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF), housed at the Harmony School Education Center in Bloomington, IN. NSRF is the clearinghouse for CFG training throughout the country.

Commencement Ceremonies are held at the Times Mirror Building in Downtown Los Angeles for final LAUSD LEARN Cohort VI schools.

SMP is awarded a three-year, $550,000 grant from The Broad Foundation - in conjunction with SunAmerica, Inc. and The Starr Foundation - to fund SMP’s primary grade literacy training and coaching efforts for elementary school principals.

SMP holds its first Critical Friends Groups New Coaches Institute at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

SMP begins muti-year contract with Colton Joint Unified School District to work with leadership teams from Bloomington and Colton High Schools, and representatives from the District Office.  First Summer Retreat held at the Los Angeles Radisson Hotel.

SMP holds first Reading by 9 Principal Leadership Initiative Orientation for 22 Cohort I Principals at the Norwalk Marriott Hotel.

Author Linda Lambert speaks at SMP’s Teacher and Administrator Leadership Institutes.

SMP staff coordinate logistical support for UCLA GSEIS’s Pacific Bell Initiative Conference held on the UCLA campus.

Microsoft Corporation announces $1 million Community of Learners Project at Laguna Nueva Elementary School (City of Commerce) to be facilitated by SMP.

Formation of a new Steering Committee to support SMP efforts.  Orientation session held at the UCLA Faculty Center.

Parent Technology Training sessions begin at Laguna Nueva Elementary School – part of the Microsoft Community of Learners Project.

The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) features an article written by SMP faculty member, Dennis Parker, in their Leadership Magazine. The article is entitled, ‘Social Promotion or Retention? Two Wrongs Still Don’t Make a Right.’

Beginning of long-term contract with Lynwood Unified School District to support improvement efforts of schools and the district office.

Beginning of partnership with select LAUSD Local District B schools to support their efforts to write Title I Program Improvement school plans.

Beginning of long-term contract with LAUSD Local District F to bring CFG New Coaches institutes to every District F school.

Short-term work with Colton JUSD Board of Education begins.

Organization moves from Moore Hall to Hershey Hall.

Receipt of second donation of $350,000 from the Microsoft Corporation to continue the Community of Learners Project at Laguna Nueva Elementary School.

Organization redefines its mission and vision statements

SMP participates in first trade show as an exhibitor (Reading by 9 Teachers’ Conference – LA Convention Center).

SMP hosts a two-day Superintendents’ Retreat at the UCLA Conference Center in Lake Arrowhead for Reading by 9 school principals and their superintendents.  Funding provided by The Broad Foundation.

SMP begins long-term contract with LAUSD Local District J to provide literacy and writing workshops for school site personnel.

SMP receives $50,000 grant from the Drown Foundation.

Executive Director, Dan Chernow, travels to Chile where he is keynote speaker at the Latin American Conference on Education

SMP begins 18-month Leading for Learning Initiative contract with six schools and district office representatives from Montebello USD.

SMP is asked by Glendale High School to support its 2002-2003 II/USP Implementation plan and efforts.

 Staff and faculty facilitate a Classroom Walk-Throughs Institute for Rowland Unified School District.

Faculty facilitate the Writing Initiative for LAUSD Local District B schools.

Staff and faculty partner with National School Reform Faculty to plan and implement annual NSRF Winter Meetings in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Faculty facilitate Socratic Seminars institute for Fullerton High School.

Beginning of 18-month Leading for Learning Initiative contract with Baldwin Park High and their Leadership Team.

Staff and faculty facilitate a Classroom Walk-Throughs Institute for Colton Joint Unified School District at the Holiday Inn in Riverside, CA.

Staff and faculty travel north to conduct SAIT (School Assistance Intervention Team) activities and write recommentations report for Sacramento High School.

Faculty facilitate Leadership Retreat for Sun Valley Middle School (LAUSD Local District B) staff at the Ventura Marriott Hotel in Ventura, CA.

An Anniversary Celebration of SMP’s 10 years of service to public schools is held at Bradley International Hall on the UCLA campus.

Executive Director, Dan Chernow, invited to Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile as a Visiting Scholar with the objective of helping the University strengthen their graduate programs in education.

UCLA SMP staff and faculty facilitate a second Classroom Walk-Throughs Institute for Rowland Unified School District.

SMP’s holds its first CFG Experienced Coaches Institute at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Building in Los Angeles, CA.

SMP staff and faculty partner with LAUSD Local District F to design and facilitate a CFG Symposium for teachers and administrators.

Contract with LAUSD Local District D begins, which provides Socratic Seminars to teachers and administrators.

Symposium on Balanced Leadership: What 30 Years of Research Tells Us About the Effect of Leadership on Student Achievement for local superintendents is held at Bradley International Hall on the UCLA campus.  Brian McNulty (McREL) is guest speaker.  Jack O’Connell (State Superintendent of Schools) makes a surprise appearance.

SMP’s holds its first English Learners Institute at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Building in Los Angeles, CA.

SMP plans and facilitates Classroom Walk-Throughs presentation for members of ACSA Region 15 (San Gabriel Valley).

Staff and faculty conduct an overall assessment of the Spurgeon Intermediate school community and write a recommendations report for HPSG compliance.  This begins an ongoing Leading for Learning contract with the school.

SMP secures grant from Clarence Heller Foundation to provide leadership training for 24th Street Elementary (LAUSD Local District E).

SMP staff and faculty begin 18-month contract with Mountain View School District to support math instruction and leadership development.

SMP staff and faculty begin work with Webster Middle School (LAUSD) leadership team to support school improvement efforts.

SMP faculty facilitate two-day retreat for Fernangeles Elementary School (LAUSD) in Lake Arrowhead – curriculum focus is on science.

SMP faculty member, Debra Laidley, is named Co-Director the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF).

SMP faculty member, Pat Martinez-Miller, travels to Pontificia Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile to provide:

 A three-day CWT Institute for supervisors working in the underperforming schools of the greater Santiago area

 Four interactive presentations in two graduate level-classes that are part of the University’s Master’s in Educational Leadership program

 Two workshops – “Strategic Leadership and the process of Change” and “Linking Classroom Observation and Improved Student Results”

 Individual meetings with doctoral candidates in the area of Educational Leadership to help them focus their dissertation research

 A region-wide symposium for school leaders (the equivalent of principals, superintendents, and government liaisons) on making change through collaboration processes.

SMP hosts statewide Charter School Symposium at LAX Marriott Hotel.  Event is co-sponsored by the California Charter School Association.  Former U.S. Naval Commander, D. Michael Abrashoff, is the guest speaker.

Inaugural professional development day for Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Grant Cohort 4 schools that had selected SMP as their provider under the grant.  Schools included Holland Middle (Baldwin Park USD), Kranz Intermediate and Miramonte Elementary (Mountain View SD), Jackson and Fremont Elementary (Santa Ana USD).

SMP faculty and staff begin to work with El Segundo Unified School District, providing ongoing, site-specific CFG New Coaches Institutes and coaching support.

SMP receives $2,000 grant from Dole Foods earmarked for scholarships for local schools to attend institutes.

SMP moves from Hershey Hall to the Math Sciences Building.

SMP secures Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Cohort 5 grant funding from the California Department of Education for six public schools – one in LAUSD and five in Santa Ana USD.

SMP faculty member, Barbara Knight, presents at the 12^th Annual California Charter School Conference in Pasadena, CA.  In partnership with three educators from Camino Nuevo Charter School, the four conduct a session entitled, Catch the Vision: Professional Development, Continuous Learning & Creative Presentations.

SMP faculty and staff facilitate first of two CFG New Coaches Institutes for Anaheim Union High School District.  NSRF National Facilitator, Stephen Spring (Maine) partners with SMP in the effort.

Production of SMP Classroom Walk-Throughs Institutes video is completed.  The video is used as an ongoing educational tool and marketing resource for the organization.

SMP’s work as a campus-based non-profit are highlighted in an article featured in UCLA Today, a campus newsletter for UCLA staff and faculty. The article is entitled, "Training School Leaders To Initiate Change: UCLA Program Helps Bring Reforms To Struggling K-12 Schools."

SMP Executive Director, Dan Chernow, is keynote speaker – with Harvard University’s Richard Elmore (senior research fellow at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education) – at the 17^th Annual Superintendent’s Leadership Institute in Providence, Rhode Island.  The institute was organized by The Education Alliance at Brown University.  Dan was accompanied by SMP faculty Director, Pat Martinez-Miller, who trained groups of superintendents on SMP’s method of classroom walk-through visits for peer feedback.  Classroom visits were also made to local Rhode Island schools.

Writing Workshop facilitated by SMP Faculty member, Jenée Gossard, at Ivanhoe Elementary School (LAUSD Local District 4).

SMP faculty facilitate a two-day Administrator Retreat for Belmont Senior High School (LAUSD) at the Glendale Hilton, focused on addressing school improvement issues.

SMP faculty facilitate a three-day Administrator Retreat for Fulton College Preparatory School (LAUSD) at the UCLA Conference Center in Lake Arrowhead, focused on addressing school improvement issues.

SMP faculty members, Pat Martinez-Miller and Nadine Barreto, travel to Rhode Island to facilitate Classroom Walk-Throughs Institute for educators from Central Falls School District.

Belmont Senior High School (LAUSD) enters into a contract with SMP to facilitate CFG New Coaches Institutes and Understanding by Design Workshops for teachers from each of its three tracks.

SMP faculty facilitate two-day retreat for parents from North Hollywood Senior High School Parent Center (LAUSD) at Pierpont Inn in Ventura, CA.

SMP faculty facilitate Classroom Walk-Throughs workshop at Westin Hotel in Pasadena, CA for Los Angeles County educators.  Workshop sponsored by the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

SMP begins partnership with El Monte Union High School District in Small Learning Communities grant.

SMP partners with Institute at Indian Hill to implement Professional Learning Communities in Antelope Valley Union High School District.  The partnership is known as the University Research Consortia.

SMP begins work with Garcia Elementary (Rialto Unified School District) on school improvement efforts, with a focus on attendance at CFG New Coaches and Bridges to Understanding Institutes.

The Education Alliance at Brown University invites SMP faculty to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to facilitate Classroom Walk-Throughs workshops for local educators.

SMP begins onsite coaching and professional development activities for Our Community School Charter in North Hills, CA.

Hollywood High School (LAUSD) enters into a contract with SMP to facilitate CFG New Coaches Institutes and Understanding by Design Workshops for teachers from each of its three tracks.

Pi Lambda Theta’s Education Horizons features article about the Critical Friends Groups experience – And Then There is Hope – written by SMP adjunct faculty member, Carmen Tolivar.

The Education Alliance at Brown University invites SMP faculty and staff to Providence, Rhode Island to facilitate Classroom Walk-Throughs workshops for local educators.

SMP is hired as the SAIT provider for Littlerock High School (Antelope Valley UHSD).

SMP begins Title I School Improvement Program work with four Santa Ana USD elementary schools  (Edison, Franklin, Garfield, and Hoover).

The Education Alliance at Brown University invites SMP faculty and staff to Bedford, New Hampshire to facilitate Classroom Walk-Throughs workshops for local educators.

SMP faculty present at the California Association of Private Schools (CAPSO) Conference at the Long Beach Convention Center:

 Maximizing Instructional Leadership Through Coaching (Nadine Barreto, Jeanie Riddell, Ayele Nii Ayree and Barry Tamabara)

 Windows on the Mind: Writing to Learn Across the Curriculum (Jenée Gossard)

 Socratic Seminars Make Sense (Jenée Gossard)

 Intro to Critical Friends Groups:  Professional Development Around Student Work (Barbara Linsley and Janet Howard)

SMP Northeast Region office opens in Trumbull, CT.  The office is staffed by former members of The Education Alliance at Brown University:  Juan Lopez as Director, Laureen (Renie) Cervone as Associate Director, and Lisa DiMartino as Program Coordinator.  This office will partner with low-performing urban and rural schools in the New England states.

SMP faculty members, Bobby Blatt and Linda Smith, present Implementing a Plan for Diversity and Access:  An Inquiry Model Approach at the Association of California School Administrator’s (ACSA) 2006 Student Services, Special Education & Diversity Symposium in Monterey, CA.

SMP holds its first Discover the Power of Advisories! Institute at The Center at Cathedral Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles.

SMP begins school site work with Spurgeon Intermediate School (Santa Ana USD) to provide coaching and professional development for school site initiatives.

SMP begins work with Woodlawn Elementary School (LAUSD) with a focus on science and math.

SMP begins work with Olive Vista Middle School (LAUSD) with an emphasis on on-site coaching and off-site professional development.

First leadership retreat with three Baldwin Park USD elementary schools (Geddes, Heath and Pleasant View) participating in the California Community Foundation (CCF) Grant.

SMP begins to implement Arthur Vining Davis Grant for six charter high schools in the Metropolitan Los Angeles area: College-Ready Academy, Heritage College-Ready, Huntington Park College-Ready Academy, College-Ready Middle Academy, Environmental Charter High School, and Community Harvest Charter.

The organization welcomes its 1,000th attendee to a CFG New Coaches Institute.

SMP faculty members, Janet Howard and Laureen Cervone, present Classroom Walk-Throughs and Critical Friends Groups:  From the Urban Principal’s Perspectiveat the National Association of Elementary School Principals 85^th Annual Convention in San Antonio, TX.

SMP faculty members, Janet Howard and Barbara Knight, facilitate one-day leadership retreat for staff from Flynn Elementary School (San Francisco USD).

SMP Executive Director, Dan Chernow, receives inaugural Professional Achievement Award from the Educational Leadership Program at UCLA.

SMP co-hosts Smaller Learning Communities Grant Writing Workshop on the UCLA campus.  The workshop was facilitated by Joe DiMartino from The Center for Secondary School Redesign.  This Center also sponsored the event in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

SMP holds professional development retreat for Santa Ana USD schools – Edison, Franklin, Garfield and Hoover Elementary Schools.  These schools received federal School Improvement Programgrants.

The State Farm Good Neighbor Citizenship K-12 Education Grant is awarded to SMP to complement the California Community Foundation grant initiative.  This new grant allows SMP to continue its work with three elementary schools that feed the middle and high Schools in the Baldwin Park Unified School District (BPUSD).

SMP facilitates CFG Workshop for El Segundo USD with the intent of bringing together all school and district site personnel who had participated in previous CFG New Coaches Institutes to discuss implementation issues and alignment around next steps.

SMP facilitates a three-day Algebra Workshops for teachers and Antelope Valley Union High School District.

Professional development retreat for charter high schools participating in Arthur Vining Davis Foundation Grant is held at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Building in Downtown Los Angeles.

SMP receives $25,000 grant from State Farm Insurance Companies to supplement a $95,000 grant received from the California Community Foundation (CCF) in late 2005 to fund the Baldwin Park USD CCF Grant Initiative.

Julie Chan, Directory of Literacy Instruction (Grades K-12) at Newport-Mesa USD, joins SMP as an adjunct faculty member.

SMP begins contract with LAUSD Local District 8 to provide support in lesson study, including using protocols to find patterns of strengths and challenges amongst their students. Four middle and three high schools participated in a series of full-day trainings over ten months.

SMP holds two concurrent, three-day CFG New Coaches Institute for teachers and administrators from Camino Nuevo Charter Academies – Harvard and Burlington sites.

Twelve schools qualifying for High Priority School Grants (HPSG) Program funding from the State of California hire SMP to provide writing and data gathering services in support of their applications for HPSG planning grants.

Duncan Johnson, former superintendent of Fullerton USD and a cognitive coach working with the Orange County Office of Education, joins SMP as an adjunct faculty member.

SMP conducts Classroom Walk-Throughs workshops for teachers and administrators in six Antelope Valley UHSD schools, with follow-up and onsite coaching to further implement the new tools and strategies learned.

SMP holds two-day CFG workshop for administrators and district office representatives from LAUSD Local District 4.

SMP’s proposal to publish a book on its Classroom Walk-Throughs process is accepted by Rowman & Littlefield Education (a division of the Rowan & Littlefield Publishing Group). Effort was led by Lisa DiMartino and Laureen Cervone in the Northeast Region office and Pat Martinez-Miller in the UCLA campus office.

Ofelia Huidor, SMP’s Research & Evaluation Coordinator, is recognized by the LAUSD Board of Education for her extraordinary journey from a socio-economically disadvantaged background, through LAUSD schools, and into the doctoral program at UCLA where she is setting an example for others of leadership, determination, and success.

Michael Ramos, former superintendent of Rancho Cucamonga and assistant professor in the Organizational Leadership doctoral program at the University of La Verne, joins SMP as adjunct faculty.

Los Angeles TV station, Univision Channel 34, airs segment on SMP’s Bridges to Understanding Institute and its impact on public schools and English Learners. Univision went onsite to Miramonte Elementary (Mountain View SD), to talk directly with teachers and students about the program and its success at their school site.

SMP receives $30,000 grant from the Wachovia Corporation in support of projects in SMP’s Northeast Region.

SMP holds retreat for Willard Intermediate (SAUSD) administrative team at UCLA Conference Center in Lake Arrowhead.

Anaheim High School (Anaheim UHSD) begins 18-month contract with SMP focused on coaching and school leadership team support and Classroom Walk-Throughs training for school staff.

David Kukla, a science specialist from LAUSD Local District 2, joins SMP as an adjunct faculty member.

SMP holds first of two Bridges to Understanding Institutes for eleven school teams and eight district specialists from Anaheim City School District at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel.

SMP holds two-day CFG workshop for administrators and district office representatives from LAUSD Local District 4.

SMP hired as SAIT provider for Lockwood Elementary (Oakland USD) under a three-year contract.

SMP participates in three-day Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) National Conference (Anaheim Convention Center) as an exhibitor.

SMP Faculty members, Bobby Blatt and Jeanie Riddell, facilitate a three-hour workshop entitled Teacher-Driven Classroom Observations: Teaching and Learning From Observable Data at the annual California Charter Schools Association Conference (San Diego, CA). They also hold a table talk entitled Looking at Student Work – Enhancing Teacher Effectiveness in Learner-Centered Organizations. These presentations are complemented by SMP’s presence as an exhibitor in the exhibit hall.

SMP holds first Test “Thinking” Strategies Workshop at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. This two-hour workshop, based upon the Miramonte Method, was attended by over 80 teachers and administrators from Los Angeles and Orange County schools.

Roosevelt Senior High (Los Angeles USD) invites SMP faculty to hold Advisories workshop for over 40 school administrators and teachers at Almansor Court in Alhambra, CA.

SMP faculty member, Jenée Gossard, facilitates Socratic Seminars Institute for Sunny Hills High School (Fullerton Joint Union High School District).

SMP holds CFG New Coaches Institute – first time in Antelope Valley – for Lancaster High School and its feeder middle schools.

SMP holds second Bridges to Understanding Institute for thirteen school teams and seven district specialists from Anaheim City School District at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel.

SMP asked to design and facilitate English Language Development (ELD) Study Group sessions for Anaheim City School District as an outcome of their participation in the Bridges to Understanding Institutes. These sessions are designed to enhance learning and measured achievement for English Learner students throughout the district.

All twelve HPSG applications shepherded by SMP are approved by the State of California, garnering approximately $15.2 million in new funding. Eleven of these schools ask SMP to continue coaching and staff development efforts at their school sites as part of these new grants.

SMP faculty members, Esperanza Trujillo and Barry Tambara, facilitate day-long retreat for Huerta Elementary School (Norwalk-La Mirada USD) teachers and administrators focusing on school improvement efforts at the school site under the HPSG grant.

SMP staff and faculty members travel to Chicago, IL for the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Annual Conference to present research on SMP programs and share experiences in implementing school improvement efforts:

 Faculty member, John Otterness, presented research showing how factors other than the organization of the curriculum and teaching techniques effect the results obtained for students.

 Staff member, Ofelia Huidor, and UCLA graduate student, Monica Sanchez, presented a paper that examined the impact of Critical Friends Groups (CFGs) on teacher collaboration and its association with student learning.

 Executive Director, Dan Chernow, served on a panel with Richard Elmore (Harvard University) and others to discuss support for educators in developing disciplined approaches to collaborative work around instructional improvement. Dr. Chernow’s piece focused on the teacher voice.

SMP faculty members, Esperanza Trujillo and Jeanie Riddell, facilitate a two-day Bridges to Understanding Institute for Littlerock High School (Antelope Valley UHSD).

The summer 2007 issue of Leadership Compass, a publication of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, publishes article written by SMP faculty members, Patricia Martinez-Miller and Laureen Cervone. The article is entitled, “Classroom Walk-Throughs as a Catalyst for School Improvement.”

The California Community Foundation (CCF) agrees to continue funding the three Baldwin Park USD elementary schools participating in the Baldwin Park USD / CCF / State Farm Initiative, with a commitment to award $200,000 for the addition of three new schools during 2007-2009. A planning grant of $25,000 was also received.

Twenty-five educators attend SMP’s first CFG Coaches Clinic, held at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. These clinics are designed for CFG Coaches wishing to polish their questioning, feedback, and peer observation skills.

State Farm Insurance Companies awards SMP with a $100,000 grant to fund a new “Like a Good Neighbor Initiative” at Leichty Middle and Esperanza Elementary, both schools are in the Los Angeles Unified School District. SMP’s focus will be on staff development and community building programs that increase student achievement.

Maple and Valencia Park Elementary Schools (Fullerton USD) hire SMP under one-year contracts to provide HPSG grant support services.

SMP welcomes visiting teachers from India and Pakistan participating in a six-week outreach program designed to enhance their understanding of American literature and U.S. History. SMP faculty and staff members escorted them to Los Angeles area high schools and provided three leadership training workshops on the UCLA campus.

SMP’s Northeast Region Office is award a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund its EX-CELL (Excellence for Connecticut English Language Learners) Project in the Connecticut school districts of Ledyard, Montville, New London, and Stratford over the next five years.