State Leaders, Educators Gather for Summit on Career/Technical Education

"This is our annual gathering for state leaders and educators to come together and learn from each other some of the ways we can use career/technical education to improve high schools, graduation rates, and students’ college and career readiness," said SREB Senior Vice President Gene Bottoms, who will lead the conference.

The conference begins at 1 p.m. on Thursday, November 8, and ends with a luncheon on Friday, November 9. All events will take place at the Embassy Suites Atlanta Airport Hotel.

Topics will include: the role of career/technical studies in raising overall student achievement and graduation rates, shortages of workers in fields that require various levels of postsecondary education, how pre-engineering courses can be introduced into most high schools, how the blending of academic and career courses works, how it can improve education for all students, and more.

Speakers and presenters will include: SREB’s Gene Bottoms, SREB President Dave Spence, Senator Jack Westwood of Kentucky, Representative Fran Millar of Georgia, Representative Mac Gipson of Alabama, former Representative Ronny Townsend of South Carolina, Judith Ponticell of the University of South Florida Lakeland, Florida Chancellor for Workforce Education Lucy Hadi, Kentucky State Director of Career/Technical Education Rodney Kelly, Director Jim Stone of the National Research Center for Career/Technical Studies, and others.

For more information about the conference or career/technical education in your state, contact SREB Communications.

SREB, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, advises state education leaders on ways to improve education. SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Each is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial appointees.