The experience of the pandemic and the availability of new funding placed a spotlight on short and long-term strategies for accelerating student learning. Those strategies range from tutoring, specialized learning academies, summer programs, and just-in-time interventions to unique solutions such as Connecticut’s model curricula. The Comprehensive Center Network’s work group on accelerated learning has tracked acceleration efforts occurring across the nation and learned about implementation supports, the investment of ESSER/ARP funds, and how districts and state agencies are evaluating their efforts. In this session, workgroup members from around the country will describe and contrast different acceleration approaches as works-in-progress, including sharing preliminary data from promising approaches. Participants will receive resource information about various approaches and have the opportunity to share their experiences with learning acceleration strategies.
Served as project lead for state education agency implementing pilot for accelerated learning tutoring model. Met routinely with project team, including state leadership, to facilitate implementation of high-dosage, equal-access tutoring in multiple districts across the state. Supported state in building human capacity by equipping staff with data literacy, management, and visualization skills; supported state in resource capacity by collaboratively producing instruments to assess implementation of “Accelerate”, pedagogical beliefs of attitudes of teachers and tutors, and capturing case study information. Served on National Comprehensive Center Accelerated work group – represented Region 14 Comprehensive Center, collaborating to facilitate a Topical Action Network among state education agency leaders focused on improving early literacy to discuss high-quality content for professional development, strategies to scale training, and strategies to monitor implementation and fidelity of instruction.
Chris Dwyer has led the CCNetwork work group on accelerated learning, and previously the work group on Literacy. She has organized state roundtables on the topic, managed a collection of resources related to accelerated learning, and prepared related products for the National Comprehensive Center.
Dr. Williams has over a decade of experience collaborating with nationally recognized education researchers, state departments of education, district and school administrators, teachers, and other education stakeholders to support school transformation and the implementation of frameworks for student support.