Keynote speaker Nick Tasler and Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond headline a one-day regional symposium on November 5 for schools, colleges, early childhood programs, and community partners
Source: The Community Leadership Center at Rutgers University–Camden
CAMDEN, N.J. (Oct. 15, 2026) –The Community Leadership Center at Rutgers University–Camden will convene educators and community partners from South Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware on Thursday, Nov. 5, for Leadership in Action: Math and Literacy Symposium, a free regional symposium on mathematics and literacy instruction. The symposium runs from 9 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Walter K. Gordon Theater on the Rutgers–Camden campus, across the Delaware River from Center City Philadelphia.
Strong reading and math skills are essential to student success in school, in college, in the workplace, and beyond. The symposium brings together educators, college and university leaders, early childhood educators and community partners from all three states to focus on practical solutions, collective action and improving student outcomes.
“Leadership in Action is an opportunity for educators and community leaders across the region to come together around one of the most important foundations of student success: mathematics and literacy,” said Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor and founder and director of the Community Leadership Center. “No school, district, or university can do this work alone. On Nov. 5, we are inviting educators from South Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware to sit at the same table and leave with strategies they can put to use.”
In one day, attendees will hear from national researchers and local practitioners on strategies for mathematics and literacy instruction that they can apply in their own schools, districts, and organizations. The program includes a keynote address, expert presentations and two panel discussions.
Speakers include:
• Nick Tasler, keynote speaker, an organizational psychologist, author of four books on change and decision-making, and contributing writer for Harvard Business Review
• Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University and founding president of the Learning Policy Institute
• State Superintendent Alfonso Q. Llano Jr. of the Camden City School District
• Dr. T. Marcel-Herbert, secondary mathematics content manager for District of Columbia Public Schools
• Roberto Porrata-Doria, chief of teaching and learning for literacy and professional development at LEAP Social Enterprise Inc.
• Dr. Ami Healy, training and consultation supervisor at the Capital Area Intermediate Unit in Pennsylvania
Dr. Bonilla-Santiago and Rutgers–Camden Dean John Griffin will host the symposium. The symposium is sponsored by the Rutgers–Camden School of Arts and Sciences and the Community Leadership Center. LEAP Academy University Charter School and the Camden City School District are co-sponsors. She is also available for interviews.
The symposium follows the release of 2026 state assessment results in New Jersey and Delaware. In New Jersey, preliminary results released in September from the state’s new adaptive assessments show 47.2% of third graders met grade-level expectations in English language arts and 22.5% of students met them on the eighth-grade mathematics assessment. The state has described those results as a new baseline.
Pennsylvania has not released its 2026 results. Its 2024-25 results show 49.9% of students in grades 3 through 8 scored proficient or advanced in English language arts and 41.7% did so in mathematics. In Delaware, results released in August show 42% of students in grades 3 through 8 were proficient in English language arts and 35% were proficient in mathematics. Each state administers its own assessments, and the results are not comparable from one state to another.
The symposium is free and includes breakfast and lunch. Attendees receive a certificate of professional development hours. Space is limited, and registration is now open: Register: clc.camden.rutgers.edu/leadership-in-action-symposium
About the Community Leadership Center
The Community Leadership Center is a service and research center at Rutgers University–Camden. Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago founded the center in 1990. It works to revitalize urban communities through education, leadership, and community development.
