The inaugural CIP Summit, held April 30-May 2, was an incredible success. Southern Oregon ESD served as host for the event, which brought together 17 districts, large and small, from throughout our state. The Oregon Department of Education was very well represented, with six participants. And once again, ESDs demonstrated their support of the Continuous Improvement Process, school districts and each other, with seven different ESDs providing staff support for this effort.
Patty Parnell, from LBLESD, kicked off the event Wednesday evening by skillfully presenting information from "The Speed of Trust" and discussing how trust advances or impedes CIP development and implementation. Steve Boyarsky welcomed everyone Thursday morning; he was followed by Salam Noor, who spoke on the CIP and the new high school diploma requirements. Christina Reagle and Mickey Garrison highlighted CIP development and implementation considerations, and Kathy Helgeson, from SOESD, put a fun spin on the CIP.
Teams then went to work with ESD and ODE coaching support and guidance. Two afternoon sessions, headed by ODE staff, provided the field with valuable information and a wonderful exchange between K-12 and the department on the new high school diploma and on CIP considerations. Some K-12 teams continued to work until 6:15 p.m. that evening. CIP work continued for K-12 teams on Friday, allowing them to go even deeper into development and implementation considerations.
Many thanks to SOESD staff for hosting this amazing event, to all ESDs and staff for their support, and to the ODE staff who worked side by side with their ESD and K-12 partners. This was another wonderful example of how a partnership between ESDs and ODE can help the field.
--Mickey Garrison
