ICW Board Meeting November 16, 2011 Washington, DC ICWs Focus ICW has refined its focus ensuring alignment with the policies of the US Chamber more broadly but narrowing its work around key areas critical to reform. The key areas within Pre-K through 12 Education are: Accountability and closing the achievement gap; and Effective teaching High standards Within Postsecondary Education and Training the key areas are: The skills gap Innovation and productivity in higher education; and Transparency Postsecondary Leaders & Laggards Target Launch May/June 2012 ICW team has been working with our higher education experts to discern the appropriate measures for the postsecondary edition of Leaders & Laggards. Below are several issues we are evaluating and metrics we are considering. Performance, Productivity, and Return on Investment Degrees produced and completion rate Cost per degree at the state level Public Accountability, Transparency, and Consumer Choice Assessing consumer accessibility to costs and graduation rates Learning outcomes Policies, Incentives, and Innovation Performance-based funding Transfer of credit and articulation Barriers to entry Business LEADs Regional Retreats Seattle, Detroit, New Orleans, and Palm Springs ICW facilitated discussion amongst teams of business leaders, local education officials, teachers, and other civic leaders in an effort to assist them in charting a course to a better education system in their community. Key Takeaways: Across the groups and sites, there was widespread confirmation that despite high unemployment, jobs in many communities were going unfilled due to a lack of qualified workers. When superintendents were asked how can the business community help you the repeated response was you need to be more clear about what it is you want. Despite agreement that there is a significant amount of attention devoted towards improving STEM education, very little is being done on a systemic basis to move the needle. One additional retreat on December 1, in Palm Springs Ca. The Daniels Fund: Education Reform Initiative Phase One: Twelve screenings of the film Waiting for Superman; Published The Superman Approach: A Business Leaders Guide to Effective Education Reform; Published state fact sheets for all 50 states; Created a interactive web tool with state level education data; and Produced and distributed Reel Resources for Education Reform toolkits and distributed to chambers across the country. Phase Two: Hosted or participated in seven events across the country; Produced and distributed The Ugly Truth: A State-by-State Snapshot of Education in America; and Released a School Board Candidate Questionnaire. In October, NCF and ICW submitted a grant proposal to the Daniels Fund (Tab 5 in your binder) for a $1.75 million grant focused on increasing business engagement in school governance. September 2010 October 2011 $1.5 Million ICWs Scope of Work Pre-K thru 12 Major projects: Daniels Fund business engagement in school governance Business LEADS 2.0 Plan Vision Fundraising Caitlin Codella Program Lead Cecilia Retelle Policy Lead ICWs Scope of Work Postsecondary Education and Training Major Projects: Postsecondary Leaders and Laggards Report Release event State and Local chamber partnerships Skills Gap Help Wanted Summit Series of roundtable discussions Employer survey Domenic Giandomenico Policy Lead Jaimie Matthews Program Lead Cheryl Oldham, Vice President Natalie Ethridge, Finance and Operations Mark DAlessio, Communications ICW Operations and Administration Next ICW Board Meeting Sunday March 4, 2012 Ritz-Carlton, Orlando ICW will hold its next board meeting in conjunction with the Chamber and NCFs board meetings. ICW Directors and Officers can take advantage of additional programming and networking opportunities available at the meeting. Staff contact: Natalie Ethridge Calendar of Events December 1, 2011 Business LEADs Regional Retreat, Palm Springs, CA March 4, 2012 ICW Board Meeting, Orlando, FL June/July 2012 Help Wanted Summit June/July 2012 ICW Board Meeting (to coincide with the Help Wanted Summit) Fall 2012 ICW Annual Summit, Washington, DC