ATLANTA — The Southern Regional Education Board will welcome more than 70 state education officials from at least 13 states to a major conference here April 3-4 on helping more students make a stronger transition from the middle grades into high school.
"Too many students leave the middle grades unprepared for more rigorous high school work. State policies and school practices can change this situation," said Gene Bottoms, the SREB senior vice president for school improvement.
"If states and schools can help more students succeed in high school, we can reach the goal of helping many more students who graduated pursue the college and specialized career training that today’s workplaces demands," Bottoms added.
Session topics will include how states can improve students’ reading and writing in the middle grades and high school, policy and instructional strategies to help more students succeed in math and science, and raising the quality of school leadership in middle schools.
Speakers will focus on best practices from SREB states, including curriculum realignment work in Georgia, and success in raising math achievement in Texas.
The event will be held at the Hilton Atlanta Airport starting at 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, and will end with a luncheon on Friday, April 4.
For more information on the conference, your state’s work to improve the middle grades-to-high school transition and SREB’s recommendations for helping more students succeed in high schools, contact SREB Communications.
SREB, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, advises state education leaders on improving 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.
