|
Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN)
Mayors are increasingly using their leadership capacity and access to city resources to strengthen and support public schools - even when they have no formal authority over school districts. To assist in this work, the YEF Institute formed the Mayors’ Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN). Founded in 2003, this national network facilitates communication among senior officials from the nation’s 75 largest cities who are working with mayors on key issues related to education reform and school improvement.
EPAN enables municipal staff to share information, insights, and lessons learned regarding the strategies that cities have employed to help their local school districts improve the quality of public education and confront critical issues affecting student achievement. The goal of the network is to build the capacity of mayors to be stronger advocates for education in their cities.
For a printable document about the network, download the EPAN information sheet »
Who is part of the network?
The network grows and changes as new mayors take office and hire staff to focus specifically on education within their cities. New members are constantly learning from seasoned members about a variety of education issues. Through the network, EPAN members continue to develop their knowledge base as the education landscape within their cities is ever-changing. Currently, 62 of the 75 largest cities are involved in the network.
How are network members engaged?
Through periodic emails, a bi-monthly newsletter, conference calls, learning communities, and an annual meeting, EPAN members have the opportunity to hear national speakers discuss relevant education issues, share best practices, seek advice from peers on specific issues with which they are grappling, and gain insights about how they can be better advocates for education in their cities.
As part of the YEF Institute’s efforts to provide additional support for peer-to-peer learning and foster regular communication among EPAN cities, the YEF Institute launched a series of learning communities in the fall of 2006. The learning communities give EPAN members the opportunity to connect with other members around a particular topic area through regularly scheduled conference calls. The groups are small, informal, and members of each group decide how often and when to meet.
The learning community topic areas that EPAN members have chosen to pursue at this time are:
- High school reform and alternative high schools with a focus on links between PK-16 and using data to track high school graduation rates.
- Educational outcomes for English Language Learner (ELL) students and students of color.
- Public engagement with a focus on parental engagement and engaging the higher education community.
- Early childhood.
What other topics do EPAN members discuss?
Some of the other topics discussed within the network are:
- The role of the education policy advisor;
- City-school partnerships and engaging community stakeholders;
- Alternative high school options;
- Teachers unions;
- Adequacy and equity in school finance;
- Local education funds;
- Education at the federal level;
- Attracting and retaining teachers, principals, and superintendents;
- Globalization and its implications on education; and
- Education and economic development.
What are some of the other benefits of participating in EPAN?
Participation in EPAN provides cities with the following benefits:
- Access to a wide range of resources and promising practices on school improvement to support the work in which mayors and their education policy advisors are engaged, including research support from the YEF Institute to investigate key questions raised by EPAN members and documentation of promising practices in areas of particular interest.
- Opportunities to meet with other network members at least once a year to hear from national experts in the field of education reform, as well as to share challenges and lessons learned. NLC has secured financial support to cover travel expenses for these annual meetings.
- Regular communications from the YEF Institute through periodic conference calls, e-mail listservs, and mailings to facilitate the exchange of ideas and lessons learned among network members, as well as a forum for conversations with national policy experts.
- Targeted dissemination of a wide range of publications and background materials on school improvement and municipal leadership in education.
- Opportunities to showcase cities’ school improvement efforts through articles in Nation’s Cities Weekly, periodic audioconferences, and sessions at national conferences.
Resources from Previous Meetings
February 5-7, 2008 in San Diego, California
June 10-12, 2007 in Washington, D.C.
December 4-6, 2006 in Reno, Nevada
April 9-11, 2006 in St. Petersburg, Florida
July 17-19, 2005 in Washington, D.C.
November 30-December 1, 2004 in Indianapolis, Indiana
February 26-27, 2004 in San Jose, California
May 29-30, 2003 in Washington, D.C.
To Inquire About Joining EPAN
EPAN is a closed network for senior mayoral education policy advisors from the nation's 75 largest cities. For questions about EPAN, contact Andrew Moore at moore@nlc.org.
| YEF Institute Home | About Us | Events and Audioconferences | Publications and Resources |
| Peer Networks | Technical Assistance | Summit on Your City's Families | YEF Council |
| Early Childhood Success | Education and Afterschool | Youth Development |
| Family Economic Success | Safety of Children and Youth |
|