Foundation for Success:
Using Data to Enhance Student Achievement
By Rick Carder, NAFEPA Vice President

The title for the annual NAFEPA conference in 2008 is focused on a major theme for educators working with federal education programs. The annual conference will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C. April 13 through April 16, 2008. Our conference committee of Helen Adams, Betsy Mierzwa, Margaret Mastin, Tom Sipe and Linda Cook has been working diligently in providing a very exciting and worthwhile conference agenda, and I am very pleased with how much we have accomplished at such an early date.

Currently we have invited Dr. Douglas Reeves, Chairman and Founder of Center for Performance Assessment to be our opening morning keynote presenter. His schedule is available and we are in the process of confirming him. Dr. Reeves will be our keynoter for the entire morning session focusing on the research and implementation of using data to close the achievement gap. Feedback from last year’s conference told us that our members wanted greater in-depth presentations from our speakers, so we are meeting the needs of our conference attendees.

Jack Jennings, President of the Center on Education Policy, will be our keynote speaker focusing on the reauthorization of NCLB. Mr. Jennings is one of the most respected authorities on education as he was involved in development of much of the ESEA legislation working with the House of Representatives education committee. Under the leadership of Mr. Jennings, the Center on Education Policy has provided a true look at the implementation of NCLB over the past five years with its comprehensive research and national case studies of local school districts across the nation.

Stan Collender, the managing director in the Washington D. C. office of Orvis Communications, will enlighten and entertain us with where we are with the federal budgets. Mr. Collender is seen regularly on MSNBC and has written numerous articles in regard to federal budgets. He has been a well received NAFEPA presenter in past years.

Our valued partner, the Brustein/Manasevit law firm of Georgetown, will once again be providing us with an overview on NCLB and reauthorization and other federal issues. We will also be providing a variety of breakout sessions from the U. S. Department of Education covering the topics of Title II, NCLB legal perspectives, Office of the Inspector General, Choice/SES, Title IV, and private schools.

We are developing the pre-conference which will be held on Sunday, April 13, so keep visiting this site for information. We are planning on having the agenda and registration information online by the middle of October. I am extremely proud of the efforts of our conference committee, and I know you will not be disappointed. Get registered early, and we welcome those of you who have never attended our conferences. We hope to see many continuing members as well as new ones in April!