May 12, 2009

Contacts:
Andra Liwag
NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5309 office
954-873-8494 cell
andrali@nova.edu

Virtual School Education Summit Provides Forum for Educators Trying to Meet Florida’s New “Virtual Instruction” Mandate – May 29
Nova Southeastern University to host free online event aimed at helping educational leaders find online teaching solutions

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. –Are Florida educators ready to establish online schools that can take K-12 instruction to the next virtual level? Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and its Fischler School of Education and Human Services hopes to help area superintendents and their school leaders answer that question by hosting a free Virtual School Education Summit on Friday, May 29.

The Summit will provide Florida superintendents and their principals with a forum to learn about plans to meet the recent Florida Department of Education mandate (Rule 6A-6.0981 – "The School District Virtual Instruction Program") to establish K-8 and 9-12 virtual schools in each school district.

The Summit will consist of a free series of Webcasts transmitted online on May 29 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Webcasts will include presentations by and discussions with school administrators and educational leaders who will share their strategies, techniques, and experiences for developing virtual school instructional programs in Florida school districts.

The Summit will also include keynote presentations from speakers such as Florida Virtual School CEO Julie Young, as well as a series of targeted, concurrent sessions that will cover topics such as vendor selection, teaching online, financing virtual schools, and legal and ethical issues.

Each participant will receive a collection of resources including a white paper titled, "Virtual Schools: What Educational Leaders Should Know." The Webcast recordings will also be accessible to participants for an additional 90 days after the Summit.

For more information or to register, please visit www.virtualschoolsummit.com.