Executive Cabinet Retreat in Cambridge, MD

Speakers

• Alberto Carvalho Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District
  

  Alberto Carvalho

  Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District

  Alberto M. Carvalho has served as Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district, since February 2022. He was selected by the Los Angeles Unified Board of Education in a unanimous vote following a comprehensive community engagement process and a nationwide search. During his 14-year tenure as Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), Superintendent Carvalho garnered local, state, national and international recognition. His honors include Florida’s 2014 Superintendent of the Year; the 2014 National Superintendent of the Year; the 2016 winner of the Harold W. McGraw Prize in Education; the 2018 National Urban Superintendent of the Year; the 2019 National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) Superintendent of the Year Award; making him the most accomplished Superintendent in America’s history. Superintendent Carvalho currently serves on the National Assessment Governing Board, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education. He also serves as a committee member for the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine and as an Advisory Committee Member to the Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance. Superintendent Carvalho is a dedicated member of the National Board of Directors for Common Threads and the Posse Foundation. Under his tenure, M-DCPS became one of the nation’s highest-performing urban school systems, receiving systemwide accreditation from AdvancEd in 2014. M-DCPS was named as the 2014 College Board Advanced Placement Equity and Excellence District of the Year and the 2012 winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education. He is now seeking to elevate LAUSD to the premier spot in American urban education. Superintendent Carvalho has been awarded many honorary degrees. He has been honored by the President of Portugal with the “Ordem de Mérito Civil,” by Mexico with the “Ohtli Award” and was awarded the Official Cross of the Orden de Isabel la Católica (Order of Isabella the Catholic) on behalf of King Felipe VI of Spain.

• Dr. Sonny Magana CEO Magana Education, award-winning teacher, best-selling author
  

  Dr. Sonny Magana

  CEO Magana Education, award-winning teacher, best-selling author

  Dr. Anthony J. “Sonny” Magana III EdD
  Dr. Sonny Magana is a 1:1 learning pioneer, award-winning teacher, Oxford Research Scholar, best-selling author, and consultant. In 1995, Sonny created and served as Principal of the Mukilteo Cyberschool, the first “Distributed Learning” program in the United States. In 2017, he wrote Disruptive Classroom Technologies: A Framework for Innovation in Education, in which he introduced the T3 Framework. Synthesized from four decades of painstaking research, the T3 Framework strategies were shown to reliably accelerate learning and achievement by harnessing the potential of educational technology tools. Called, “A brilliant breakthrough in our understanding and use of technology for learning,” by Professor Michael Fullan, the T3 Framework research findings were peer-reviewed and published in the prestigious Oxford University Research Encyclopedia of Education.

  Sonny’s newest book, Learning in the Zone: The 7 Habits of Meta-Learners, was recently published to global critical acclaim. Dr. Robert J. Marzano wrote, “Magana’s concept of ‘Meta Learning’ lays the foundation for the new pedagogy of the 21st Century.” Professor John Hattie wrote, “Magana has advanced our understanding of the Visible Learning model a major step forward. Sonny Magana has truly become the ‘Eddie Van Halen’ of learning.”

  An avid musician, yoga practitioner, and mountaineer, Sonny was awarded the Milken Family Foundation Educator Award, the inaugural Washington Governor’s Commendation for Educational Excellence, the EdTech Digest Global Education Leadership Award, and was named one of their top influencers in education. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Stockton University, a Master of Education degree from City University, and an Administrative Credential and Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Seattle University.

• Kamela Patton President and CEO of Patton Solutions
  

  Kamela Patton

  President and CEO of Patton Solutions

  Dr. Kamela Patton is President and CEO of Patton Solutions, providing educational consulting services to leaders and school districts across the nation. She was also a National Superintendent of the Year finalist in 2022 as the former Superintendent of Collier County Public Schools (CCPS).

  During her 12-year tenure as Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Patton enhanced existing programs, instituted new technological tools, improved internal and external communications, and initiated new programs that resulted in a direct increase in student achievement. Under Dr. Patton’s direction, CCPS improved its district ranking to tie for 5th in the State from 33rd during these years. This success is clearly seen in the number of students that have increased their performance on state tests. The percentage of students exceeding the state average has skyrocketed to 100% in 2022 from 30% in 2011. The district graduation rate has also risen significantly to 92.7% in 2022 from 72.5% in 2011, an increase of 20.2%. CCPS has focused on increasing programming and increasing academic achievement simultaneously for all students.

  While academic success is the key focus of a school district, under Dr. Patton’s leadership, the district plans to be debt free within 4 years, a time period which includes building a new high school. This will save $41 million of interest.

  As part of the last three-year strategic plan created under Dr. Patton’s direction, the school district was focused on preparing students to be College, Career, and Life Ready. This will be accomplished through an emphasis on academics, culture, and leadership while also highlighting the importance of a high-quality staff with a strong succession management plan, fiscal responsibility, and communication.

  Over the 12 years, Dr. Patton received numerous accolades, awards, and recognitions. Most recently, she received the Cognia Excellence in Education Award, was a Champions for Learning Glass Slipper Honoree, and receipt of a specially created Women Rock Philanthropy Award. Dr. Patton was also recognized as the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS) as the Superintendent of the Year and she was one of four finalists for the National Superintendent of the Year, from the American Association of School Superintendents (AASA) – The School Superintendents Association. She also received the 2021 Naples Daily News Outstanding Citizen of the Year, 50 Florida Influencers, Naples Top 100 Distinction (2019 – 2022), Americans United Annual Civic Award, Leadership Collier Distinguished Alumni Award, Naples Illustrated Top 100, Excellence in Civic Leadership Award, the 2018 Lavan Dukes District Data Leader of the Year Award, the 2018 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Distinguished Leader Award, the 2018 Florida Music Education Association (FMEA) Superintendent of the Year Award, and received the prestigious honor of being the 2017 Star Superintendent from the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations. Additionally, she was named one of Naples Illustrated 20 Leading Ladies of Naples along with being named a 2017 Gulfshore Life Magazine Men and Women of the Year honoree, as well as being recognized as a Woman of Distinction in History for Diversity and an eSchool Learning National Tech-Savvy Superintendent Award Winner. She is the recipient of the Salvation Army Partners in Mission Award, the Boys & Girls Club Paragon Award, the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Messiah University, and the Sunshine State School Public Relations Association (SUNSPRA) Outstanding Superintendent Communicator Award. Dr. Patton was named by Gulfshore Business as one of the 41 People with the Most Clout in Southwest Florida and a Power Woman by Florida Weekly magazine.

  As part of her commitment beyond education, she has served on a variety of local, state, and national boards. She is a graduate of Leadership Florida, Leadership Collier, and the FBI Citizens Academy.

• William Robinson Executive Director of Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education
  

  William Robinson

  Executive Director of Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education

  William Robinson is the executive director of the Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE). Robinson has been with the PLE since 2010, initially overseeing efforts to transform how the PLE supports district partners and builds executive education programs focused on systemic change. He is responsible for the organization’s impact, strategic direction, partner development, thought leadership, and engagement of stakeholders from the schools and the field, deepening the organization’s focus on team-based organizational development and sustainability of transformation efforts.