Second Annual "Schools of the Future" Conference May 1

The conference, which will be held in the Duken School Building, Plattsburgh, from 12 to 5:30 p.m., will bring together K-12 administrators, teachers, counselors, psychologists and higher education faculty to discuss ideas about what schools might look like 10 to 15 years from now.

"We prepare education professionals who will have 30- to 40-year careers," said Dr. David Hill, dean of education, health and human services. "It's important for all of those involved in education to consider how to prepare for change over the course of an educator's career. Our Schools of the Future conference is one way for stakeholders in education professional preparation to gather together and talk about what changes need to be made in schools and how to prepare professionals for those changes. I support any venue that draws practitioners and college faculty together for dialogue about what the future might look like and how to get there"

Dr. George Wood, principal of Federal Hocking High School in the rural Appalachian area of Ohio, will give the keynote address. Wood began his career in 1976 as a social studies teacher at Lake Orion High School in Michigan. He has a bachelor's degree in social studies education, a master's in curriculum and instruction and a doctorate in education foundations and curriculum and instruction, all from the University of Illinois. He has served on the faculties of the University of Illinois and Ohio University.

Author of A Time to Learn and Schools That Work , Wood founded the Institute for Democracy in Education and currently directs the Principal's Leadership Network for the Ohio High School Transformation Initiative, a project to break up large urban high schools in Ohio.

Wood also has experience with, and will speaking about, the Coalition of Essential Schools, of which Federal Hocking High School is a member. The coalition has been documenting the process and outcomes of school reform since its inception more than 20 years ago. The coalition has compelling evidence showing that "students who attend Essential Schools across the country are making striking academic progress." There are more than 200 national affiliate schools within the coalition, including 27 in New York.

Following the keynote address, conference attendees will participate in facilitated small group discussions.

For more information, contact Dr. David Hill, dean of education, health and human services at SUNY Plattsburgh, at 518-564-3066. The conference fee is $10 per participant or $20 per a team of three or more. North Country school districts are encouraged to send a team of at least three educators to this one-day conference.
 
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