Alfie Kohn: Keynote Address on Thursday, April 24 at 9 am
Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. His thirteenth book, The Myth of the Spoiled Child: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Children and Parenting, will be published in the spring of 2014. Of his earlier titles, the best known are Punished by Rewards (1993), No Contest: The Case Against Competition (1986), Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason (2005). and The Schools Our Children Deserve (1999).
Kohn has been described in Time magazine as "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores." His criticisms of competition and rewards have helped to shape the thinking of educators -- as well as parents and managers -- across the country and abroad. Kohn has been featured on hundreds of TV and radio programs, including the "Today" show and two appearances on "Oprah"; he has been profiled in the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, while his work has been described and debated in many other leading publications.
Cindy Marten: Keynote Address on Friday, April 25 at 12:45 pm
Cindy Marten is deeply committed to creating educational conditions and opportunities that enable all children to become actively literate, contributing and participating members of a democratic society who make a positive difference in the world. After participating in a seven-year improvement effort at a struggling school in Poway Unified, Marten chose to take her experience to one of the most challenging schools in San Diego Unified — Central Elementary in City Heights— where she served for 10 years as teacher, instructional leader and principal.
At Central Elementary, Marten worked passionately at attracting and retaining high-quality, dedicated staff. She nurtured innovative programs to support her students and staff including: a highly successful bi-literacy program, a hands-on school garden program, quality after-school and preschool programs, employees’ child day care center, and a community health and wellness center for students and their families. Her team’s success was validated by steady and improved student achievement, which included an increase in the school’s Academic Performance Index (API). By 2012 it reached 788, just shy of the state target of 800.
As the district’s new superintendent, Marten looks forward to leading the district team and community with a singular focus on student success. She believes that there are NO EXCUSES when it comes to providing children with the very best conditions that will enable them to become confident, successful learners who can achieve their dreams. Marten will work with the Board of Education to implement Vision 2020, creating quality schools in every neighborhood throughout the district.
