KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

GRANT WIGGINS

Grant Wiggins is co-author of the award winning Understanding by Design the highly successful book written with Jay McTighe and is currently the President of Authentic Education in Hopewell, New Jersey. He earned his Ed.D. from Harvard University and his B.A. from St. John’s College in Annapolis. Grant consults with schools, districts and state education departments on a variety of reform matters; organizes conferences and workshops; and develops print materials and Web resources on curricular change.

Over the past twenty years, Grant has worked on some of the most influential reform initiatives in the country, including Vermont’s portfolio system and Ted Sizer’s Coalition of Essential Schools. He has established statewide Consortia devoted to assessment reform for the states of North Carolina and New Jersey. Grant is the author of Educative Assessment and Assessing Student Performance, both published by Jossey-Bass. His many articles have appeared in such journals as Educational Leadership and Phi Delta Kappan.

PEG PORTSCHELLER

Peg Portscheller, past Educator of the Year and Superintendent of the Year, brings real-world experience to leading curriculum improvement initiatives. For 15 years, she served on the board of the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL) and is currently a consultant with Focused Leadership Solutions. She has worked with Doug Reeves as the Chief Learning Officer for the Leadership and Learning Center, and has served as a union leader, teacher, and school administrator.

Peg offers educators pragmatic and “doable” strategies for getting teachers, unions, and school leaders moving.