A Note from Middle States Region VP Bob Alig
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 VP Bob Alig |
Greetings from the Middle States Regional
Office! We are busy across the region as we collaborate with our district- and state-level colleagues, as well as those at colleges and universities, across the education spectrum. We have key initiatives in each state in our region that we would like to share with you over the next several issues of Connection. This month, we would like to highlight some of our current activities in Maryland.
We are proud to report that Maryland students are driving record-breaking academic achievement across underrepresented groups and socioeconomic backgrounds, and evidence points to the success of Maryland’s instructional programs for all students. The partnership between the Maryland State Department of Education and the College Board continues to provide valuable service to all 24 school districts across the state through the support of our educational managers and through various professional development conferences.
“Because of our partnership with the College Board, we have formed a culture of professional growth and development, increased classroom rigor and instruction, and prepared more students to be college and career ready,” said Nancy Grasmick, state superintendent of schools. “As partners, we actively work together to achieve shared outcomes by designing and aligning our research and assessment projects to College Board standards of college readiness. We are also grateful that our school district leaders and community partners have responded by supporting statewide efforts to ensure all Maryland students are educated and prepared for bright futures.”
On Sept. 9, our K–12 services team attended a kickoff planning meeting with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction and her team to strategize implementation initiatives for PSAT/NMSQT®, SAT® and AP. The objective of the initiatives is to increase the number of students who are college or career ready. Next steps include setting up meetings with district guidance directors, assistant superintendents, and MSDE content coordinators by December 2009.
In other Maryland news, the Tri-County Consortium was formed last year with St. Mary’s County Public Schools, Charles County Public Schools and Calvert County Public Schools. The consortium allows members to share ideas, resources and professional development. They met recently to investigate professional learning communities and plan shared professional development. A similar group, the Western Maryland Consortium, was formed this summer with Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties. Leadership teams from all three counties will participate in a joint data review session on SAT, AP and PSAT/NMSQT this fall. Our Maryland K–12 services team followed up on a February superintendents meeting led by Nancy Grasmick by meeting with the superintendents on the Eastern Shore Consortium Sept. 3.
Our higher education service staff will be in attendance Sept 24-26 at the NACAC Conference in
Baltimore. We would like to meet our regional colleagues who will be attending. To schedule a meeting at this great event, e-mail us at romsro@collegeboard.org. We will be hosting a preconference Student Search Service® workshop Sept. 23 in the conference hotel. Learn how the College Board’s Enrollment System can help you develop more strategic and cost-efficient methods to reach prospective students. If you would like to register, please contact Shannon Moore at 610-227-2536 or smoore@collegeboard.org.
We are pleased that Forum 2009 will be held in New York next month. It’s a terrific opportunity for you
to meet your colleagues from around the country, and I hope as many of you as are able will plan to attend this dynamic event.
Finally, we look forward to profiling our work across the other states of the Middle States Region in future editions of Connection.
Board of Trustees Chair Appears with
VP Joe Biden
The College Board’s Board of Trustee chair, Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, was invited to participate in an expert panel at Syracuse University when Vice President Joe Biden visited the school Sept. 9. Biden was there to chair a meeting of the White House Middle Class Task Force. Other notable participants included Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel and New York State United Teachers President Dick Iannuzzi.
Speaking to a group of more than 1,000 Syracuse high school students, SU students, parents, Say Yes to Education foundation and school district leaders, faculty, staff, and members of the greater Syracuse community, Biden reiterated the Obama administration’s goal of having the highest proportion of students graduating from college in the world by 2020, and spoke fervently of its commitment to building America’s middle class through better education.
“There is no lack of passion about the need [to prioritize] education for the future well-being of this country,” Biden said. “I’ve never seen a time when so many major stakeholders in the system have gotten involved. … I believe we will do whatever it takes. … There is no higher domestic priority [than education]. It is the single most pervasive change we can make that will help everything — from crime on the street straight through to international competitiveness.”
Syracuse University, where Copeland-Morgan serves as associate vice president for enrollment management and director of scholarships and student aid, was chosen to host the task force because of the university’s commitment to the critical issues of college awareness, access and affordability, and the Syracuse community’s collective work on the Syracuse Say Yes to Education initiative, which includes a K–12 comprehensive support program that addresses four major obstacles to postsecondary access for low-income students: academic, social-emotional, health related and financial. Now the Syracuse Say Yes to Education program is bringing this success to an entire school district — the first program of this scale in the nation. Biden said of the program, “Let me pause to compliment Syracuse University and the entire Syracuse community about the Say Yes to Education initiative.” He pointed out that Say Yes deals with two of the major obstacles to attending college: achievement and affordability.
After remarks from Biden, Duncan and Geithner, audience members were invited to ask questions. In response to a student’s question about whether the government would help parents who had taken out PLUS Loans to supplement their students’ Pell Grants and other financial aid, Copeland-Morgan replied, “I’m really appreciative of the Obama administration [because] there has been legislation put forth and changes that went into effect this year that will make it easier for parents to repay their parent loans, [such as] opportunities to defer payments on loans while students are still in school — a new benefit that they can defer that until six months after the student is out of school. The other thing that I would say is that we are putting forth ideas to address the challenges that families are facing today, and there are processes in place that will allow the student loan areas to work with families who are experiencing hardship. … The important thing about this kind of town hall meeting is it gives us an opportunity to listen to those concerns, to build on the flexibilities that the secretary and the president have already made in the area of parent loans. I would really encourage you to talk to a financial aid person — here at Syracuse, certainly, you can talk to us — but to make sure that parents and students are aware of the different options they have for working through some of these credit issues.”
Copeland-Morgan went on to say, “I'm very appreciative of the opportunity to work with the vice president and the task force on this very important topic. The work of the university in collaboration with the Syracuse City School District and the Say Yes to Education foundation is targeted toward these exact issues — helping to make education affordable and a reality for all students, but especially those who face the challenge of being middle-income and economically disadvantaged students.”
To learn more about the White House’s Middle Class Task Force, visit
www.whitehouse.gov/strongmiddleclass. To learn more about Syracuse’s Say Yes to Education,
visit www.sayyessyracuse.org. A recorded webcast of the event in its entirety is available at http://biden.syr.edu.
Rochester Students Soar with Help from SpringBoard®
Heading into their fifth year using SpringBoard®, the Rochester City School District is seeing students strengthen their English Language Arts skills and improve their performance on state tests.
In May, the school district announced historic gains by students on the state English Language Arts tests, as more students than ever scored at grade level. In seventh and eighth grades, the proportion of students meeting state standards increased by 13 and 12 percentage points, respectively.
In the last few years, the district has improved its standing among New York’s largest districts, comparing favorably in 2009 with schools in Buffalo, Syracuse and Yonkers.
“Over the last few years, we’ve gone from having SpringBoard in a few schools to using it in all of our high schools,” said Connie Leech, the school district’s executive director of integrated literacy. “I went into every school and every classroom and walked through the English departments talking with teachers. I was able to use elements of SpringBoard to talk about what the pedagogy should be and how to get to an aligned
rigorous curriculum.
“The materials have given us a foundation for what we need to accomplish. We’re looking at applications across social studies as well.”
The school district’s 20 high schools, with students in grades seven–12, are utilizing SpringBoard. Leech and Mary Kay Dimino-Lara, the district’s SpringBoard coordinator, have offered ongoing training and planning opportunities to keep their momentum toward success.
“The intent is to bring the curriculum alive,” Leech said. “We use other programs as interventions to help kids access the rigor of SpringBoard without having to dumb it down. Our professional development has increased teachers’ capacity to deliver strategies and help kids jump on board.
“It’s rewarding to see that work pay off for everyone.”
Upcoming Middle States Region
2009 Fall Counselor Workshops
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Each fall, thousands of educators come together at dozens of workshops across the country for the College Board’s Fall Counselor Workshops. This year, we have a new way for you to participate: |
LIVE – ON DEMAND –
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Check back often, live sessions are updated regularly. |
Attend a free workshop in your region.
Register online at www.collegeboard.com/meetings
| 9/25 | Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, Pa. |
| 9/30 | University of Scranton, Scranton, Pa. |
| 10/1 | Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J. |
| 10/1 | Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. |
| 10/2 | Delaware Technical & Community College, Dover, Del. |
| 10/2 | University of Maryland, College Park, Md. |
| 10/2 | St. Joseph’s College, Long Island Campus, Patchogue, N.Y. |
| 10/5 | St. John Fisher College, Rochester, N.Y. |
| 10/6 | Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, Md. |
| 10/6 | University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| 10/7 | American University, Washington, D.C. |
| 10/7 | Atlantic Cape Community College, Mays Landing, N.J. |
| 10/8 | Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pa. |
| 10/9 | University of Delaware, Newark, Del. |
| 10/9 | Jamestown Community College, Jamestown, N.Y. |
| 10/9 | Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pa. |
Events & Workshops
Click here to see events and workshops in the Middles States Region.
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During this pivotal time in our nation, the College Board invites you to join us for two special opportunities to connect with education professionals dedicated to impacting change and increasing college readiness.
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