Results of Hope Street Group’s 2013 Annual Colloquium have been released today, reflecting the collective work of over 100 influential thought leaders, experts and dedicated field practitioners from political, business and civic sectors. The conference, held on March 13, 2013 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., convened prominent innovators for a full day of unique idea generation, ambitious goal setting and forward-thinking problem solving.

Collaborative, bipartisan working groups engaged in open and constructive conversations aimed at generating real solutions to pressing problems in U.S. education, healthcare, and jobs and workforce development systems. The morning sessions began with facilitated discussions in each working group to identify the barriers and significance of potential game-changing solutions. The groups then voted on the top solutions where Hope Street Group’s coalitions could drive impact and built action plans for continued progress. The day’s outcomes were presented to a panel of policy and business leaders at the closing of the day, and have since been translated and vetted by each participant into memos that Hope Street Group released today.

In the Education working group, contributors addressed the most significant current needs of educators and students. The group, which included state commissioners of education, foundation heads and members of Hope Street Group’s National Teacher Fellowship Program, determined that to encourage beneficial change, the U.S. must:

• Create and provide innovative resources to support and drive school data culture

• Embed professional development initiatives into school culture to empower teacher performance

• Improve alignment of school curriculum and resources to the Common Core State Standards

Dr. Stefanie Sanford, College Board’s Chief of Policy, Advocacy and Government Relations, a participant in the education group, stressed, “The results issued today show the importance of bipartisan and cross stakeholder groups. By convening regularly to identify needs and collaboratively develop resources for educators focused on measurable results, they can make fundamental advancements in student achievement.”

Dan Cruce, VP of Education at Hope Street Group, said, “Hope Street Group believes in bringing the right people to the table to do the hard work our country needs to drive toward economic opportunity for all Americans.” He continued, “Our Colloquium gives thought leaders the chance to share their ideas on how to solve some of today’s biggest problems and work with others to drive towards scalable results.”

The Hope Street Group 2013 Colloquium was sponsored by PG&E, LinkedIn, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Walmart, and Sg2. Education working group participants included, among others, Tony Miller, Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Dept. of Education, John Deasy, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, Allan Golston, President, U.S. Programs, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Christopher Cerf, Commissioner of Education for the State of New Jersey.

Hope Street Group is a 501(c)3 organization working to strengthen the foundational underpinnings of the nation’s economy—education, healthcare, and jobs—by identifying and promoting rational methods of incentivizing better outcomes. www.hopestreetgroup.org