December 5, 2003

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

NSU’s National School Reform Conference Concludes Tomorrow (Saturday) With Focus On Student Learning

ORLANDO, FL – The Magic Kingdom will say goodbye tomorrow to the more than 500 educators who attended the National School Reform Conference, December 3-6, hosted by Nova Southeastern University’s Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services.

After visiting nine area schools today (Friday), conference goers returned to the Disney's Contemporary Resort to attend sessions at 2, 3:15 and 4:30 p.m. Highlights included: “Native Americans—The First Dig,” a participatory program that illustrates how to incorporate ‘fun’ strategies into the curriculum, presented by teacher Linda Turner and Yolanda Moore, curriculum and instruction facilitator at Harleyville-Ridgeville Elementary School, South Carolina; “Teaching Math in the 21st Century,” a program that will utilize technology in a 21st century classroom, presented by Kristen Augsburger and Jane Henson, teachers at Houston High School, Georgia; and “They Kame from Space-- NASA ISS EarthKAM” a program presented by James Gerald and Les Gold of NASA, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The session for middle school teachers only, featured information about NASA’s ISS EarthKAM program that provides photographs of our planer taken from a remote digital camera onboard the International Space Station. Another exciting session was the “Nova Southeastern University’s Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services new Florida School Choice Resource Center,” an interactive presentation on the new center and the online resources available for magnets, charters, and career academies, presented by Lisa Kammel, project director of Florida School Choice Center.

Nathan Gallion, a first year social studies teacher with McCormick Middle School, McCormick, South Carolina, has enjoyed attending his inaugural conference and said he has found useful information in all of the workshops.

“ The workshops I attended provided great information that I can use as a new teacher,” he said. “I especially enjoyed the site visits to the local schools because it’s incredibly encouraging to see how that even the lowest performing schools can rise to “A” standards.”

Today’s activities will conclude with a bang – literally – as conference attendees are treated to a reception at Epcot’s American Pavillion, along with a candlelight processional and spectacular fireworks display as only Disney can do it.

The conference brought together principals, lead teachers, and faculty teams from private and public elementary, middle and high schools who sought to learn “Best Practices in America’s Best Schools,” featured by National Blue Ribbon School models of excellence.

With more than 65 workshop sessions from which to choose, participants who traveled from New York to California, as well as from China and the Democratic Republic of Congo, spent their four days in Orlando both on the side of Disney's Contemporary and off at local schools and events. Focus was placed on several priority areas including: teacher quality/professional development; school leadership; improving test scores; improving math and science instruction; creating safe schools; enhancing education through technology; educating diverse learners and more.

Sessions scheduled for Saturday morning include: “Brain-Based Learning,” “Managing Change in a Multilevel, Multicultural School,” “Breaking Down Instructional and Operational Barriers,” “Listening and Learning from your Stakeholders,” “Perspectives on Leadership,” “Kitty Hawk and Beyond: Using Current Events I the Classroom,” “Helping the Young Adolescent Succeed,” and “Games + Tricks + Strategies = M.I.N.D. (Math Is Not Difficult).”

MEDIA NOTE: Members of the media are invited to attend all Blue Ribbon sessions and events. RSVP to Mara Kiffin, NSU’s coordinator of public affairs, who will be the on-site coordinator for all media. 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.