Annual Conference Focuses on

AYP Challenges

By Kate Fitzgibbon

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's annual professional development conference—Education Now & in the Future (ENF)—is typically packed with sessions reflecting the Laboratory's wide range of education programs. However, ENF is taking a more focused approach for 2005. In response to requests for help with the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act, ENF 2005 will target "The Path to AYP: Best Practices and Research-Based Tools for Northwest Schools."

Conference topics are organized into three strands:

Proficiency in the Content Areas—These presentations will deliver guidance on effective practices and strategies for teaching the academic subjects—math, reading, and science—that are currently measured to determine adequate yearly progress or will be in the near future.

Increasing School Effectiveness—These sessions will help schools meet AYP through building effective leadership for school reform, creating schoolwide supports for effective learning, and using assessment and data for decisionmaking.

Engaging Special Populations—This series is designed to address the challenges of educating and providing supplemental services to special populations (specifically minorities, low-income, children with disabilities, and English language learners) in relation to AYP.

The Basics

Dates: February 28–March 1, 2005, with preconference workshops on February 27

Place: Hilton Hotel, Portland

Web site: Conference details will be updated regularly at www.nwrel.org/enf

Conference Registration opens December 2004

Cost: By January 28, 2005
Member Institution $95
Nonmember Institution $130

Cost: After January 28, 2005
Member Institution $125
Nonmember Institution $160

Rates listed are per person.

More than 900 educational institutions in the Northwest are members of NWREL. To find out if you work for a member institution, visit www.nwrel.org/members or call 800-547-6339 ext. 519.

In addition to the AYP session strands, supplementary features of ENF 2005 include:

Preconference workshops on Sunday, February 27, 2005—Student assessment, leadership, classroom management, Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, and school-family partnerships are the topics in this year's lineup.

State Breakfast Meetings—These get-togethers will home in on priority educational issues particular to individual Northwest states.

Conference wrap-up sessions—Roundtable dialogues will enable participants to discuss a topic in small groups with session facilitators and peers, and to build support networks for long-term efforts to use tools and strategies acquired at the conference.

Keynote speakers, who will also facilitate preconference workshops, include Mark Millemann and Michael Grinder. The two local educators will offer stimulating addresses on group dynamics and leadership, respectively.