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February 16, 2005

CARE National Conference Coming to ULM

Who: Teachers from across the nation, Government officials and policy makers, and representatives of non-governmental organizations
What: The Children and Rural Education (CARE) Conference
When: April 3rd-5th
Where: The University of Louisiana at Monroe campus
Why: To focus attention on rural education and establish an agenda that will serve as a blueprint for rural education research for years to come.

The University of Louisiana at Monroe will host a national conference on rural education as the result of a $200,000 grant it recently received from the National Science Foundation. The CARE Conference will focus on the themes of organizing every school for teaching and learning success; insisting on quality teacher preparation, program accreditation, and licensure; and developing and sustaining professionally rewarding career paths for teachers from mentored induction through accomplished teaching.

ULM will apply advanced Internet technology to provide the broadest possible participation in the CARE Conference. Use of the University's Access Grid Node, a state-of-the-art facility that employs the Internet to provide full voice, video, and data interaction among multiple locations, will permit full participation by people at four remote sites scattered across the country. Additionally, email and streaming video technology with allow anyone with Internet access to observe the sessions and send questions or comments to the conference speakers. Among the keynotes speakers are:

o Dr. Rachel Tompkins, president of the Rural School and Community Trust, a non-profit organization helping schools and communities get better together;
o Dr. Sharon Draper, the 1997 National Teacher of the Year and author of the award-winning essay, "The Touch of a Teacher," published by the National Governor's Association;
o Dr. Knight Roddy, a science educator from Clinton, La., and the recent recipient of the National Rural Education Association Science Award; and
o Dr. Richard Ingersoll, associate professor of Education and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, and a researcher whose work has been cited by former President Clinton in numerous speeches.

The grant was written by Eric Pani, Associate Provost at ULM; Virginia Eaton, Director of Graduate Studies and Research at ULM; Luke Thomas, Dean of ULM's College of Education and Human Development; Patty Watts, Director of the Delta Regional Educator's Academy; and Natalie Campbell, Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies and Research at ULM. Information about the conference can be obtained by emailing care@ulm.edu or by visiting http://www.ulm.edu/care/

For this and other ULM news online visit www.ulm.edu. While there, check out ULM's on-line calendar for all of ULM's upcoming events.

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