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Higher Education Summit in New Mexico |
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Governor (Bill) Richardson’s Higher Education Summit 2007 was held Dec. 3-5 in Albuquerque, N.M. This year’s gathering, Creating Pathways for Students through New Mexico Higher Education and the Achieving the Dream Research Symposium: Coming Full Circle with P20 Policy, was hosted by New Mexico Higher Education Cabinet Secretary Reed Dasenbrock.
The Honorable Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish gave opening remarks, which were followed by a presentation from the Cabinet Secretary on his vision for higher education in New Mexico. Also featured were such distinguished speakers as the Honorable Attorney General Gary King, who discussed campus safety in New Mexico; and keynote addresses from Kati Haycock, president, The Education Trust; and Janis Somerville, staff director, the National Association of System Heads.
The summit offered professional sessions that explored such topics as career pathways; economic and workforce development; technology in education, adult basic education; the Legislative Lottery Scholarship and financial aid; sustainability; work-study programs; outreach initiatives; the Advanced Placement Program®, teaching approaches; and college readiness, among others.
Attending and presenting from the College Board Southwestern Region were Joyce Elliott, director, State and Legislative Outreach; Paul Sanders, senior education manager; and Eric Heineman, chief educational manager. Their presentation focused on how to help ensure college readiness — through the PSAT/NMSQT®, AP Potential™, pre-AP and AP — leading to college completion, which is one of Governor Richardson’s major goals for higher education and moving New Mexico forward. Additionally, they discussed why admissions officers should become advocates of rigorous course work, such as that offered through AP®.
In keeping with the College Board's emphasis on access and equity, Elliott, Sanders and Heineman pointed out that, through an agreement between the College Board with large school districts (e.g., Albuquerque), there is support within the Public Education Department for bearing the cost of sophomores taking the PSAT/NMSQT. This agreement provides needed opportunity to those students, but access for all New Mexico students would be even more equitable. While the presenters praised New Mexico's efforts in support of professional development for AP teachers, they emphasized the necessity of maintaining and expanding the training to help ensure teacher preparedness. The session began and ended with a discussion of how AP courses can help New Mexico envision a prosperous future and make it a reality.
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A Note from Southwestern Region VP Ann Wright |
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| VP Ann Wright |
The Southwestern Regional Office staff
is working on various projects, including the
2008 Southwestern Regional Forum set for Jan. 30-
Feb. 1, 2008, in Frisco, Texas. We are expecting large numbers of registrants from each of our four states.
At the forum, we will explore the evolving educational landscape in the Southwestern Region and the nation,
and discuss ways to foster excellence and ensure equity for years to come. Our featured speakers are Linda Darling-Hammond, the Charles E. Ducommun Professor
of Education at Stanford University, and Gretchen Bataille, president of the University of North Texas and former College Board Trustee. Darling-Hammond has launched the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute and the School Redesign Network and served as faculty sponsor for the Stanford Teacher Education Program. Bataille is a recognized scholar of Native American literature whose professional career has focused on issues of diversity, civil rights and ethnic studies.
In other news, we hosted the College Board’s first SpringBoard® Conference on Dec. 7, where nearly 200 educators from across the nation gathered in Austin, Texas, to learn more about this exciting program and share best practices. We plan to have our second conference next fall. We also hosted our Major Schools Meeting on Dec. 11-12. This two-day event allowed representatives from each of our four states to come to Austin and learn about the College Board’s College Readiness System, hear program updates, share concerns and ideas and meet with Southwestern Region staff.
We are very pleased to welcome 57 educational institutions from the Southwestern Region as new College Board members and will honor them at the regional forum. We also congratulate the 442,280 students in our region who took the PSAT/NMSQT® in October. This represented a 9.8 percent increase from the previous year.
The Southwestern Region was a sponsor of New Mexico’s Higher Education Summit on Dec. 3-5. The event brought together the state’s higher education community for sessions on technology in education, outreach initiatives, AP® and college readiness, among others. In Arkansas, Commissioner of Education Kenneth James issued a memo to all school superintendents informing them that, through a regulatory change, each school district now has the option of choosing whether to administer the PSAT/NMSQT or PLAN to its 10th-grade students. Congratulations to Oklahoma, which celebrated its 100th year of statehood in November. In Texas, the STAR/GEAR-UP project is in its second year. It continues to provide college readiness activities to more than 2,000 students in the Corpus Christi area.
Finally, please join me in wishing Debra Craig the very best as she leaves the College Board to pursue other interests. Her daily interaction with us will be missed.
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Arkansas’ Model Policy for Funding for PSAT/NMSQT® |
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In Arkansas, Commissioner of Education Kenneth James issued a memo to all school superintendents informing them that, through a regulatory change, each school district will now have the option of choosing whether to administer the PSAT/NMSQT® or PLAN to its tenth-grade students.
Since 2003, Arkansas has paid for all sophomores in the state to take the PLAN, while only a few districts offered the PSAT/NMSQT, with no help from the state. As the 2007 legislative session began last January, Kay Wilson, senior educational manager for the College Board, and Joyce Elliott, director, legislative and state outreach for the Southwestern Region, discussed with Commissioner James the issues of access, choice and opportunity for students, should the state allow districts the option of which test to administer. “Initially, Commissioner James and I thought legislation would have to be passed to achieve parity of access,” explained Elliott. “The Education Department's chief counsel researched and found that the language allowing the state to pay for the PLAN was not legislative, but regulatory. This discovery led to Commissioner James' issuance of the memo to all superintendents informing them of their ability to choose between the tests.”
As a matter of equity and access, the regulation to allow school districts to opt for the PSAT/NMSQT versus the PLAN, with the state paying the cost, will make it possible for more students to be identified for AP® course work. As a result, students’ increased participation and success in AP courses will mean more students who are better prepared for courses in math and science before college and who, likely, will achieve greater success in these fields in college.
Offering students the PSAT/NMSQT and identifying those eligible for AP courses will also further the goals of the National Math and Science Initiative, which awarded Arkansas one of seven sizable grants to help more students achieve success in AP courses related to math, science and language arts.
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Southwestern Regional Forum in Texas Jan. 30-Feb. 1 |
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The Southwestern Region will kick off the 2008 College Board regional forums, gathering at the Embassy Suites in Dallas-Frisco, Texas, Jan. 30-
Feb. 1. The Southwestern Regional Forum will highlight the changing educational landscape of
the Southwestern Region and the nation at large.
Day one will begin with preforum workshops in
the morning, which include a special welcoming reception for the “first-timers,” followed by the
first general session, featuring keynote speaker Gretchen M. Bataille, president of the University
of North Texas. The day will conclude with an opportunity for mingling with colleagues and professionals at the evening social, which
includes lively entertainment, food and drinks.
Some of the forum sessions will include Planning for Life After High School: Community Involvement in College and Career Planning; College Ready? Yes, We Are; and Connecting Historically Black Colleges and Universities to Southwestern Regional Counselors and Students.
The 2007 Southwestern Region Awards will be held at the forum luncheon on Jan. 31, recognizing excellence in service. AP® awards will also be given to four outstanding AP teachers in the Southwestern Region. The College Board will also recognize San Antonio’s G.W. Brackenridge High School as one of the three exemplary high schools selected to receive a 2007 Inspiration Award.
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(PDF)
