SREB’s 24th Annual High Schools That Work Staff Development Conference Gathers About 6,000 Educators

SREB Senior Vice President Gene Bottoms, the director and founder of SREB’s nationally acclaimed High Schools That Work (HSTW) school improvement program, opened the conference with a keynote address urging educators to help more students graduate from high school well-prepared to begin college and or career training.

SREB’s single largest program, HSTW is a national, comprehensive school improvement design based on the premise that most students can master rigorous academic and career/technical studies if school leaders and teachers create a school environment that motivates all students to make the effort to succeed. More than 1,100 high schools in 30 states and the District of Columbia participate in the HSTW school improvement initiative. SREB also runs the Making Middle Grades Work and Technology Centers That Work school improvement programs.

To cover the conference or for more information about the programs or participants at the conference from your state, contact SREB Communications. To follow the conference highlights live, visit @educationalan or #hstw on twitter, or on Facebook under " Improving Education in the South."

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. For more information, visit www.sreb.org.