More than 100 of Georgia’s top education leaders and policy-makers are expected to attend the College of Education’s second annual Education in Georgia: A State of the State Report on Oct. 1 at UGA’s Gwinnett Campus.
Keynote address: Bob Wise
The theme of the conference, which is co-sponsored by UGA’s Education Policy and Evaluation Center, is “Emerging Educational Priorities During the Period of Economic Recovery.” The keynote speaker will be former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, now president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and a nationally recognized adviser in high school educational policy.
Wise, author of the book Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation, served as governor from 2001-05. He fought for and signed legislation to fund the PROMISE Scholarship Program, which has helped thousands of West Virginia students remain in the Mountain State for college.
He established a character education curriculum in all state schools and created the Governor’s Helpline for Safer Schools. During his administration, West Virginia saw a significant increase in the number of students completing high school and entering college.
In 2001, Wise proposed salary bonuses for teachers who achieve National Board certification, which helped triple the rate of certified teachers in the state. Education Week’s Quality Counts 2004 report gave West Virginia its highest cumulative grade out of all 50 states.
From 1983 to 2001, Wise served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of West Virginia. During his tenure, he worked aggressively to preserve federal financial aid for students to attend college.
Conference speakers
UGA Education Dean Arthur M. (Andy) Horne will give opening remarks for the conference. Other speakers and their topics include:
- Jeff Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business. “Economic Outlook for Georgia’s Public and Private Pre-K-12 Education Industry: 2010.”
- Ron Cervero, associate dean for outreach and engagement, College of Education. “Georgia Issues and Plans: A Summary.”
There will be three concurrent breakout sessions in the afternoon featuring the following topics and speakers from the College of Education:
- “Risk Factors in Predicting School Completion.” Amy Reschley, assistant professor in educational psychology.
- “Emerging Policy Considerations for English Language Learners.” Pedro R. Portes, The Goizueta Foundation Distinguished Chair of Latino Teacher Education, professor in counseling and executive director of the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education.
- “Assessment and Accountability Reform.” Eric Houck, assistant professor in educational administration and policy.
“This annual conference is an important part of the effort to improve student achievement in Georgia schools,” said Horne. “We are excited to have the opportunity to present new research and innovative approaches to addressing some of the challenging issues we face today in education.”