The annual State Department of Education (SDE) Summit 2008, Putting It All Together…How Do the Pieces Fit?, will be held at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa at the Convention Center in Montgomery, AL, May 6-8, 2008. The Summit will provide professional development sessions designed specifically for central office personnel. Each local education agency (LEA) is encouraged to assemble a team of central office instructional leaders to attend this collaborative event.
The two and one-half day Summit will be a multi-faceted event that will include keynote speakers, concurrent sessions, LEA success stories, and time for team planning SDE staff (Federal Programs; Special Education Services; Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative [AMSTI]; Alabama Reading Initiative [ARI]; School Improvement; Classroom Improvement; Career and Technical Education; Prevention and Support Services; Student Assessment; Professional Education Personnel Evaluation [PEPE]; and Technology Initiatives) and LEA staff will work together to provide collaborative sessions to demonstrate best practices in implementing multiple initiatives and programs to support continuous improvement. Professional development sessions are planned for superintendents and LEA program coordinators.
Dr. Ray McNulty, Vice President of the International Center for Leadership in Education, will deliver the keynote address, “Reinventing the Education System.” Dr. Larry Tihen and Ms. Maria Callis Schneider, district personnel from Lee County, FL, will share their success story, “Solving the Curricular Puzzle: Planning and Implementing Systems for Reading Instruction that Work,” during the closing session.
Reservations for the Summit can be made by calling 1-800-468-3571 and requesting the
“Alabama State Department of Education” group room block. Team members may register online through STI Professional Development at
https://pdweb.aldse.edu, February – April 2008. For questions concerning STI PD registration, please contact Ms. Christine Spear at
cspear@alsde.edu. For all other questions concerning the Summit, please contact Ms. Beth Thompson at
bthompson@alsde.edu or Ms. Brooke Blair at
bblair@alsde.edu.