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UTAH EDUCATION POLICY FORUM TO ADDRESS STATE-WIDE EDUCATION ISSUES


Nov. 8, 2007 – “Bureaucratic solutions to problems of practice will always fail because effective teaching is not routine, students are not passive, and questions of practice are not simple, predictable, or standardized. Consequently, instructional decisions cannot be formulated on high then packaged and handed down to teachers,” states Linda Darling-Hammond in her award-winning book, The Right to Learn.

Darling-Hammond, who is the Charles E. Ducommun professor of education at Stanford University, will deliver a keynote address at the Utah Education Policy Forum, to be held Nov. 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the 23rd floor event center in the Wells Fargo Center, 299 S. Main St. in Salt Lake City. Media are welcome. See below for a complete agenda.

The forum, which is co-hosted by the Utah Education Policy Center (UEPC) and the Utah Council of Education Deans, will include panelists discussing a range of important topics, including: school choice; education finance, governance and accountability; teacher and administrator quality and quantity; and college readiness, preparation, and success. Panel participants on these issues include experts and researchers from across Utah’s Higher Education institutions, a local school district, the State Board of Regents, the Utah State Office of Education, Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel and the Utah Foundation.

“The forum will provide an opportunity for policymakers, educational leaders, business and civic leaders and researchers throughout the state of Utah to reflect on and discuss current and emerging issues relevant to improving education in Utah,” says Andrea Rorrer, director of the UEPC. The UEPC’s role is to inform and influence educational policy in Utah and the region by identifying relevant issues related to educational access and equity both in public and higher education and engaging in timely and rigorous research, evaluations, and analysis.

“Our goal is to bridge research, policy, and practice. The UEPC provides research-based evidence for educators and policy makers and serves as a resource on current education issues in ways that inform and improve educational practice,” notes Rorrer.

Monday’s forum will be the kick-off public event for the UEPC and will feature Linda Darling-Hammond and Richard E. Kendell as keynote speakers.

Linda Darling-Hammond is the Charles E. Ducommun professor of education at Stanford University where she launched the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute and the School Redesign Network. Her research, teaching and policy work focus on issues of teaching quality, school reform and educational equity. Her recent books include Preparing Teachers for a Changing World (co-edited with John Bransford), A Good Teacher in Every Classroom (co-authored Joan Baratz-Snowden) and Preparing Teachers for a Changing World: What Teachers Should Learn and Be Able to Do. She is the recipient of the 1998 Educational Research Association’s Outstanding Book Award for The Right to Learn and the 2000 National Staff Development Council’s Outstanding Book Award for Teaching as the Learning Profession (co-edited with Gary Sykes).

Richard E. Kendell is Utah Commissioner of Higher Education and serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Regents. The commissioner and his staff provide support to the Board of Regents and the institutions of the Utah Systems of Higher Education.

The agenda for the forum is included below:

8:00-8:30       Check-in

8:30-8:45       Welcome and Introductions

8:45-10:00      Keynote–Linda Darling-Hammond

10:00-11:00    Panel I– School Choice (vouchers and charter schools)

11:00-12:00    Panel II– Education Finance, Governance and Accountability

12:00-1:30      Lunch

12:15-1:00      Lunch Keynote – Richard E. Kendell

1:15-2:15        Panel III-Teacher and Administrator Quality and Quantity

2:15-2:30        Break

2:30-3:30        Panel IV– College Readiness, Preparation, and Success

3:30-3:45          Closing

For more information on the UEPC contact Andrea Rorrer at 801-581-3383.