Center Valley, Pa. — Southern Lehigh School District is sending a team of school district leaders to Providence, Rhode Island, April 21-22, to participate in the third of 12 Future Ready Regional Summits, designed to help district leaders improve teaching and learning through the effective use of technology.
President Obama announced the regional summits at the ConnectED to the Future Convening, hosted at the White House Nov. 19, 2014. The summit is being hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and the Alliance for Excellent Education with West Warwick Public Schools at West Warwick High School in West Warwick, Rhode Island.
“The Future Ready Regional Summit and the initiative fits perfectly with our goals and vision for the future at Southern Lehigh. Through our comprehensive planning process we have identified strategies to transform our schools to 21st century teaching and learning through integrating a student-centered digital learning environment k-12,” said Dr. Leah Christman, Southern Lehigh Superintendent. “Having the opportunity to network with like-minded educators from throughout the north east should provide us even more great ideas as we engage in conversations about what is working elsewhere and how to bring what woks to our schools. Our district leaders are excited to be part of this national movement and for the opportunities it brings to our students and educators”,
Christman and her district leadership team, including Secondary Education Director Joan Takacs and Assistant High School Principal Jason Lilly are furthering Southern Lehigh’s commitment to becoming future ready by engaging in a series of workshops that offer expert support to create or build upon an existing digital learning plan that aligns with instructional best practices. The program is implemented by highly trained teachers, and leads to personalized learning experiences for all students, particularly those from traditionally underserved communities.
“Superintendents provide critical leadership to ensure that every child in their district benefits from what we know matters and what we know works for kids,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “The Future Ready Regional Summits will be a forum where local leaders can share knowledge with their peers, engage leaders from outside their region and better equip themselves with skills and tools necessary to provide students with what they need to be successful in life.”
The summits are an important step toward realizing the goals of the ConnectED Initiative announced by President Obama in 2013 to connect 99 percent of students to high-speed Internet and empower teachers with the technology they need to transform teaching and learning. The regional summits are expected to engage more than 1,800 district leaders nationwide. The other Regional Summits will be in Raleigh, North Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland; Vancouver, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; Atlanta, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; Redwood City, California; Denver, Colorado; Wadsworth, Illinois; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Dallas, Texas.
“Future ready is about helping district leaders leverage technology to empower teachers, engage students, and close persistent equity gaps by creating a learning environment where all students have access to the tools and expertise they need to be prepared for the future,” said Richard Culatta, director of the Education Department’s Office of Educational Technology (OET).
The summits are open to district leadership teams that have made a commitment to developing the human and technological capacity needed to transform teaching and personalize learning using digital tools, by signing the Future Ready District Pledge. Already, more than 1,500 district superintendents nationwide have taken the pledge.
For more information about the OET, including resources for students, parents and educators, visit http://tech.ed.gov/. #FutureReady
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2015
Contacts:
Dr. Leah Christman
Superintendent
Southern Lehigh School District
5575 Main St.
Center Valley, Pa. 18034
610-282-3121 Ext. 5101
christmanl@slsd.org
and
U.S. Education Department Press Office
(202) 401-1576 or press@ed.gov
