FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
?
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
John L. Winn
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
Commissioner of Education
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
JULIA L. JOHNSON
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
CONTACT PERSON
LINDA K. TAYLOR
Name: Mary Jane Tappen
K-12 Deputy Chancellor for
Student Achievement
Phone: (850) 245-0509
SunCom: 205-0509
E-Mail: mary.tappen@fldoe.org
K-12: 2005-148
October 26, 2005
MEMORANDUM
TO:
District School Superintendents
FROM:
Cheri Pierson Yecke, Ph.D.
SUBJECT:
First Annual K-12 Continuous Improvement Conference
The first annual K-12 Continuous Improvement Conference is fast approaching, and it promises a
week filled with strategies for increasing student achievement, one of the Department of
Education’s most important goals. As the newly appointed K-12 Chancellor, I am excited about
the professional development opportunities that this conference will offer and urge you to support
this event by attending and sending your district administrators and school principals, too.
The conference will include outstanding general and concurrent sessions revolving around the
Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle of the Continuous Im
Commissioner John Winn and other nationally recognized leaders in education reform including
Dr. Gerald Anderson, Dr. Willard Daggett (International Center for Leadership in Education), and
Dr. Gene Bottoms (Southern Regional Education Board). High school reform will be one theme
we plan to emphasize throughout the week.
CHERI PIERSON YECKE, PH.D.
CHANCELLOR, K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOLS
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 514 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0509 • www.fldoe.org
District School Superintendents
October 26, 2005
Page Two
Concurrent sessions will feature teachers, district personnel, consultants, vendors, and Department
of Education staff. Session topics include data-driven decision making, using the Continuous
Improvement Model in different classroom settings, strategies for students with disabilities and
English language learners, parent involvement and faith- and community-based mentoring,
professional development, model schools from large and small districts, and many other subjects
you will not want to miss.
Pre-conference activities will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, December 12, 2005. The full
conference will kickoff at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 13, 2005. To register for the
conference, please visit http://www.coedu.usf.edu/tac/regform.asp. Through November 18, 2005,
registration fees are $175. Late and on-site registration fees will be $225.
Hotel reservations should be made directly with the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel
by calling (407) 934-4116 or (888) 828-8850.
The group name is Florida Department of
Education, K-12 Continuous Improvement Conference. The room rate for the conference,
including the preceding and following weekends, is $125 per night. The cut-off date for the room
block is November 18, 2005. The Friday sessions should conclude by noon on December 16,
2005.
The Department is pleased to host the first annual K-12 Continuous Improvement Conference and
we look forward to seeing you there. We encourage the participation of district superintendents
and administrators, all principals, federal program coordinators and directors, curriculum
directors, directors of instruction, school improvement coordinators, school board members, staff
development directors, and charter and non-public school administrators.
More information, including a draft agenda, can be found at
http://www.fldoe.org/K12/News/memo_9_22_05.asp.
If you have any questions or wish
additional information, please contact Stephen L. Wolfe, Conference Chairman, Miami-Dade
County Public Schools, (305) 995-2855 or email swolfe@dadeschools.net.
CY:hr
