| 2008 Southwestern Regional Forum |
The Southwestern Region kicked things off Jan. 30 when more than 700 educators gathered in Frisco, Texas, for the 2008 Southwestern Regional Forum. Those attendees expecting wide grins, warm conversation and Southwestern cuisine were not disappointed, and no one was a stranger following the luncheon for first-timers provided by the regional council.
The first general session featured the forum keynote address from Gretchen M. Bataille, president of the University of North Texas, who inspired the crowd for the work that lay ahead in the remaining days of the forum. Speaking to the group composed of teachers, counselors, researchers, administrators and admissions and financial aid staff from high schools and colleges around the region, she discussed ways to help students learn, stay in school and pursue higher education in order to build strong futures as active citizens. Bataille also spoke of how important the work of the College Board is in contributing to building a better educational future for all students. A generous selection of informative afternoon sessions gave way to an evening social, where attendees enjoyed a healthy sprinkling of networking, socializing, live music and libations.
 Nan Davis, vice president for institutional enrollment at Austin College and Southwest Regional Council member; James Montoya, College Board vice president for higher education; and Barbara Merkle, director of admissions at Midwestern State University
Excellence in Service Award winner Lisa Fielder, executive director of College Forward, with Paul Weaver, district director of counseling and guidance for Plano Independent School District and past regional council chair
The second day of the forum started early with breakfast and a town hall meeting with College Board President Gaston Caperton. After his remarks, attendees were given the opportunity to ask questions of Caperton, and a lively discussion followed. The luncheon fare was Texas-sized, offering diners double entrees of steak and chicken, and combined awards presentations with annual meetings of the Academic, College Scholarship Service and the Guidance and Admission assemblies. Following the afternoon sessions, attendees were treated to a light reception and business card swap before enjoying some free time for shopping and dinner on their own.
Frank Ashley, vice chancellor, Office of Academic Affairs, The Texas A&M University System
The final day offered one last helping of morning sessions before concluding with a brunch featuring remarks by Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University, who discussed how educators can light a fire within their students by teaching them a better way to learn.
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Texas Teachers Win Bob Costas Grant |
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Grant recipients Mary Grace Bagaoisan (left) and Roseo Caburian Jr. of Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland, Texas, with James Lindsay of the College Board (center) |
Mary Grace Bagaoisan and Roseo T. Caburian Jr., teachers at Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland, Texas, are the Southwestern Region’s 2008 recipients of one of six College Board Bob Costas Grants for the Teaching of Writing. The grants recognize extraordinary teachers who use innovative methods to inspire their students to write.
Bagaoisan and Caburian teach English as a second language in an economically and ethnically diverse high school. Eighty-two percent of the students are eligible for Title I services, and there are 17 different first languages spoken within the student body. Bagaoisan and Caburian have succeeded in building writing skills and academic confidence among students whose limited English proficiency threatened to keep them from staying in school or considering college. The grant will support a program for ESL students that offers intensive writing workshops combined with field trips to museums, athletic events, theater performances and other cultural institutions. Students will be given various writing assignments related to the activities, such as news stories, reviews or essays. The project will culminate with the publication of their work in an ESL newsletter and on a related school Web site.
The College Board created the grants in 2006 to support teachers and to thank Bob Costas, the Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and author, for his generous public service work on behalf of the National Commission on Writing. Bagaoisan and Caburian will share the $3,000 grant.
They were honored at the Southwestern Regional Forum on Jan. 31 at the Embassy Suites
Dallas-Frisco Hotel in Frisco, Texas. Visit www.collegeboard.com/costasgrants for more information about the grants.
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