National Teleconference:
The Common Core State Standards: Challenges and Opportunities for Education Funders

The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) presents a significant opportunity for states to accelerate and drive education reform toward the ultimate goal of preparing students to graduate from high school ready for college, work, and success in the global economy. The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Districts (CCSSO), in partnership with Achieve, Inc., ACT, and the College Board have initiated a state-led process of developing and adopting a common core of state standards aimed at providing a clear and consistent framework for stakeholders in education across the country.

To provide context as well as practical advice for education funders working toward substantive, long-term reform in their states, Dane Linn, Director of the NGA Center's Education Division, and Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director of CCSSO shed light and respond to participants' questions on the Common Core State Standards. The teleconference was facilitated by An-Me Chung, Program Officer at the C.S. Mott Foundation.

Topics include:

• What are the Common Core State Standards and why are they important?
• What has been accomplished at the national level to date? What do we know about efforts under way in various states around CCSSI adoption?
• What are some of the challenges and opportunities stakeholders are encountering around
  the country?
• Where do we go from here: what's next in the process?
• How can funders support states around the common core standards?
• What other strategies can funders adopt to drive long-term education reform?

This teleconference is presented as part of the Foundations for Education Excellence initiative, made possible through support by the C.S. Mott Foundation. We thank the Council on Foundations, the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, Grantmakers for Education, and the Philanthropy Roundtable for their assistance with this effort.

Listen to the teleconference: