Baltimore initiates first local High Shool Summit.

Sometimes national initiatives creep to the local level at a snail's pace. This truism drove Baltimore Superintendent Joe Hairston to convene Baltimore County's High School Summit.

Modeled after the first two annual national high school leadership summits, the May summit addressed the affective and curricular components of effective high schools before 500 public and higher education leaders and business and community stakeholders.

Keynote speaker Neil Howe focused on developing a deeper understanding of the millennial generation. Presenter Willard Daggett concentrated on high school reform and the pragmatic and technical skills required in the global economy.

"Adaptability is the cornerstone of what needs to happen in the future. American students are competing with students around the globe," Hairston says. Speakers also explored high school reform elements such as smaller learning communities and high expectations.

The summit will have global implications. Baltimore Public Schools invited 15 educators from Oxford, England, to the district to spur an international conversation about high school reform. The long-range plan, says Hairston, is to begin a teacher exchange program with the Oxford group. A student exchange could follow as well.

The district is sending a cohort of administrators and superintendents to China to gain a deeper understanding of the world environment as it relates to teaching and learning.

Other outcomes are closer to home. The district will host another summit for K-12 teachers this fall. At the district's summer Principals' Academy, appropriate interactions with the current generation will be explored.