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We are all aware of the challenges that face our profession, including the recent report from the U.S. Department of Education on teacher quality and Title II data, “meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge” that states that “teacher preparation programs are failing.” Samford University invites you to bring interested faculty and join with us in an Education Summit to discuss innovative ways to meet those challenges. The summit will provide participants with an opportunity to present a description of their program’s best practice and publish their work in a proceedings document that will be peer-reviewed and made available to others as a collection of best practices from around the country.
Joining in the dialogue will be teacher educators from around the world (including representatives from each of the four U.S. Department of Education award winning programs), administrators from outstanding K-12 programs, and representatives from the Southern Regional Education Board, South Eastern Regional Vision for Education and the United States Department of Education. The conference will focus on four primary concepts: 1) preparing highly-qualified teachers, 2) best practices for improving student learning, 3) using data to make educational decisions, and 4) preparing teachers to improve learning for all through an integrated special education / regular education program.
The format will include plenary presentations by nationally renowned educators and breakout sessions describing excellent programs from around the world. The primary focus, however, will be facilitated round-table discussions among members of all educational levels. The goals of the summit are the creation and dissemination of recommendations concerning ways teacher preparation programs and K-12 educators can work together to prepare excellent teachers and administrators for the demands and challenges of improving student learning in this new century. Outcomes will include a sharing of recommendations on the final day of the summit, which will include a response to the Department of Education report, and a publication that includes both the recommendations from the summit and papers based on the individual presentations of best practices of teacher education programs and partnerships.
We all attend many conferences each year and listen to papers and speakers. We often leave wondering what impact this meeting will really have on the education of our
children. This summit is a unique opportunity for an in-depth dialogue with others from our profession and for participation in the creation and dissemination of thoughtful
recommendations for improvement. And, hopefully it will be the opening of much more dialogue about the issues to which we have devoted our careers.
Please join us in Birmingham, Alabama, October 14 – 17, 2002.
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