December 4, 2003

Contact:
Mara Kiffin, Coordinator
(954) 262-5350

Day Two Underway At NSU's National School Reform Conference Underway
Educators to Attend Local Schools Tomorrow (Friday, December 5)

ORLANDO, FL – On day two of Nova Southeastern University’s National School Reform Conference, more than 500 educators attended their choice of workshops, while preparations were being made at the top performing local schools that will host the conference goers tomorrow – Friday, December 5 – to share best practices and innovative approaches to education delivery systems.

Hosted by NSU’s Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services at Disney's Contemporary Resort, the conference brings together educators who teach K-12 in the private and public sectors to provide information about “Best Practices in America’s Best Schools.” In addition to the more than 65 breakout sessions, educators get to tour and learn from nine schools in the Orange and Osceola county school districts.

Judith Harwood, director of Student Enhancement and Reform at NSU, works with the school districts as partners to organize the tours.

“We identify the best practices that are working to improve student achievement,” she explained. “These are “A” programs in Central Florida, and in seven of the nine schools, the majority of the students are from low socio-economic backgrounds. Conference attendees can visit the schools, then return to their schools and implement some of these programs”

The buses will leave for three destinations right after the General Session entitled, “Lights on Programs – After school, Weekends, and Summers Too!” Bus schedules are as follows:

• 8:50 a.m., - Rolling Hills Elementary, Ocoee Middle School, Hillcrest Elementary schools
• 9:00 a.m. – Cypress Elementary, Dr. Phillips High, Northlake Elementary schools
• 9:15 a.m. – Celebration School, Osceola High, Horizon Middle schools.

After having lunch with the students, educators will return to the Contemporary for breakout sessions at 2:00, 3:15 and 4:15 p.m., before leaving for a reception, candlelight processional and fireworks display at Epcot.

MEDIA NOTE: Members of the media are invited to visit the schools. RSVP to Mara Kiffin, NSU’s coordinator of public affairs, who will be on-site at Rolling Hills Elementary, Ocoee Middle and Hillcrest Elementary schools. She can be reached throughout the conference on her cell phone at (954) 224-4642.

Nova Southeastern University, with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and student educational centers in Tampa, Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, and Jacksonville, Florida, and Las Vas, Nevada, is the largest independent institution of higher education in the Southeast, and the 10th largest nationally. It awards associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist, doctoral, and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields, including business, counseling, computer and information sciences, education, medicine, dentistry, various health professions, law, marine sciences, psychology, and other social sciences. The university also offers 16 undergraduate majors through the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences.

NSU’s Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services, based at NSU’s North Miami Beach campus, is the largest accredited graduate school of education in the United States with more than 10,000 students in more than 50 sites in the U.S. and abroad, and via a variety of distance education technologies. FGSEHS, a leader in distant graduate education for educators, organizational leaders, and trainers throughout the world, has more than 7,000 students in graduate education programs in Florida alone, including both online programs and live classes at NSU locations statewide.