New Mexico to Air PSAT/NMSQT^® PSA on Radio, TV

In a repeat performance, the College Board is again funding a public service announcement in New Mexico about the importance of the PSAT/NMSQT®. The PSA will run between 6 a.m. and midnight through Sept. 20, with six spots per week on every Albuquerque radio and television station and 10 spots per week on other New Mexico radio stations. Just as last year, this year’s PSA was recorded by New Mexico Secretary of Education Veronica Garcia in English and Spanish and touted the benefits of the PSAT/NMSQT.

This announcement is intended to encourage students to take the PSAT/NMSQT, particularly after the New Mexico Public Education Department allocated funding to pay for all 10th-grade students enrolled at any one of the 89 public school districts to take the test. This initiative enabled thousands more high school students to take the test and opened access to AP® course work. As the numbers from the participation data show, these efforts have paid off:  Last year, 12,204 10th-grade students across the state took the PSAT/NMSQT — a one-year increase of
almost 23 percent.

Nine other states — Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee — and the District of Columbia provide funds for 10th-grade students to take the PSAT/NMSQT.

VP Ann B. Wright

The Southwestern Regional Office spent the summer working intensely with conferences, school and college visits, and strategic planning.

Southwestern Regional Forum planning is under way! The Southwestern Regional Forum’s Local Arrangements Committee in Oklahoma City, Okla., is energized and delighted to be welcoming College Board members to its city Feb. 4-6, 2009. The forum will be held at the Oklahoma City Renaissance Hotel, located in downtown Oklahoma City, offering easy access to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the Murrah Federal Building, Bricktown and other sites with outstanding restaurants. Plans are under way to highlight local student talent, schools and universities during the event. The Forum Program Planning Committee welcomes some new members: Joy Ahmad, Carol Carter, Dolly Lasater, Troy Johnson, Barbara Prichard and Debbie Pennington. The entire committee, chaired by regional council member Monique Cossich, has put together an impressive list of professional development sessions that will meet the diverse needs of all attendees. Keynote speakers will include Gaston Caperton and Frosty Troy, a nationally acclaimed speaker and public education champion. Mark your calendars, as this will be a meeting that should not be missed.

Pete Gonzales has been appointed to the position of SpringBoard® program specialist, joining a new group headed by Greg Walker. Pete brings to the College Board his 21 years of expertise in instructional technology, curriculum, assessment and professional development of educators. His strong interpersonal relationship, account management and presentation skills offer district administrators the clear understanding they need to incorporate successful implementation of educational products. He has a passion for consultative selling of products and services that help educators and their students reach their academic goals. Prior to joining us, Pete was a regional director of sales and an assessment solutions consultant at Educational Testing Service. Please join me in welcoming Pete to the fold.

As of the July 1 deadline, the CollegeKeys Compact™ had 475 institutions on the final roll of charter members for this important initiative. This number includes 137 colleges, 311 schools, 18 non-profits and nine agencies. Seventy-five of the charter institutions are from the Southwestern Region. The number continues to grow and, currently, there are 492 institutions that have signed the Compact.

Click here to see entire list.

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Click here to see events and workshops in the Southwestern region.