The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is extending an invitation for superintendents  to attend SREB’s College- and Career-Readiness Standards Networking Conference on July 14-16, 2014, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn.

This year, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will keynote the opening session on July 14 at 1 p.m.

For information on the networking conference and how to register, go to www.sreb.org/networkingconference. This cost-effective conference will showcase the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and the Mathematics Design Collaborative (MDC), instructional tools that are helping teachers meet the new standards. LDC and MDC have been field tested in several states during the past three years and have proven to engage students in deeper learning and increase achievement. LDC actively engages students to read complex texts and express their understanding in writing. MDC develops math understanding and reasoning through multi-step math problems.

Meeting the higher expectations will require a major shift in how teachers teach and prepare their students for college and careers. The LDC and MDC frameworks are proven strategies that also meet the need for high-quality professional development to support teachers.

The Kentucky Department of Education encourages superintendents to share the networking conference brochure with their districts’ middle grade schools, high schools and technology centers. The conference is an exciting, open-learning environment for collaboration and networking around proven classroom tools. It is a great opportunity to learn how other districts are advancing student achievement. School districts are encouraged to send a team to the conference on college- and career-readiness standards that are in line with Kentucky priorities.

For more information on the conference, contact SREB Senior Vice President Gene Bottoms at gene.bottoms@sreb.org or 404-875-9211.