On October 3, 2023, the RESTART Network hosted the 2023 Virtual National Symposium featuring the National Association of State Boards of Education and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The webinar included presentations from researchers and policy leaders who are leading efforts to advance academic recovery. 

In the wake of the pandemic, there is an urgent need to address national disruptions in student achievement and identify successful strategies for student engagement. The PreK–12 Research on Education Strategies to Advance Recovery and Turnaround (RESTART) Network is part of a larger set of federally funded grant programs designed to generate and share evidence-based strategies with the goal of accelerating post-pandemic academic recovery. 

Symposium Topics 

• Recovery research & policy: Presentations from RESTART Network members and state education leaders on the role of economic insecurity and health stressors on student engagement.  

• National policy efforts: Highlighted efforts from the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Association of State Boards of Education including hearing from state leaders on evidence-based policymaking. 

The Symposium served as a virtual convening to share research findings, learnings, and successes of practitioners and policymakers, and highlighted the recovery-related efforts of the RESTART Network, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Association of State Boards of Education. 

Event Recording

Presenters

• Dr. Susan Therriault, Principal Investigator and Institute Fellow, American Institutes for Research (AIR) and RESTART Network  

• Dr. Tim Sass, Professor of Economics and Faculty Director of the Metro Atlanta Policy Lab for Education (MAPLE), Georgia State University & Dr. Jennifer Darling-Aduana, Assistant Professor of Learning Technologies, Georgia State University  

• Melissa McGrath, Chief of Staff, Council of Chief State School Officers  

• Dr. Margie Vandeven, Commissioner, Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education & Dr. Paul Katnik, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Educator Quality, Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education  

• Dr. Jeni Corn, Director of Research and Evaluation for the Office of Innovation, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction 

• Paolo DeMaria, President and CEO, National Association of State Boards of Education

Resources Shared During Symposium

Council of Chief State School Officers: State Leadership on Recovery 

• How State Education Agencies are Using COVID Relief Funding to Support All Students
• States Leading: How State Education Agencies are Leveraging the ESSER Set-Aside (COVID Relief Data Project)
• Coalition to Advance Future Student Success

Recovery Strategies From Missouri 

• Missouri Leadership Development System (MLDS)
• Teacher Recruitment and Retention

North Carolina’s Road to Recovery Through Evidence-based Policymaking 

• Main Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration webpage 
• Research and Recovery Roundup Blog 
• North Carolina Practitioners Network Press Release 

NASBE: Engaging All Students