More than 700 central San Joaquin Valley educators are meeting Thursday and Friday, April 22-23, in Fresno for a conference featuring Rick and Becky DuFour, authors and national educational experts on raising the expectations and achievement in public schools.
Superintendents, principals and teachers will learn about public schools that have improved student achievement by setting high goals, monitoring student progress and organizing teachers into professional learning communities to regularly talk about improving students’ learning.
The conference at the Golden Palace Hall (Clinton Avenue at Highway 99) is culminates a yearlong video conferencing program hosted by the Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute (CVELI) at California State University, Fresno. More than 140 educators from Bakersfield to Madera have participated in the program.
CVELI, housed in the Kremen School of Education and Human Development at Fresno State, is committed to forming partnerships across the Valley. The institute is joined by Fresno County Office of Education and Sanger Unified School District in sponsoring this event.
In their most recent book, “Raising the Bar and Closing the Achievement Gap,” the DuFours featured Sanger Unified School District and the leadership of Supt. Marc Johnson, a Fresno State alumnus. The district was recognized for its commitment to strengthening the culture of teacher collaboration, focusing on intervention systems that promote students’ learning and building a strong leadership team that held themselves accountable for measurable student achievement improvements.
The results of these efforts are reflected in Sanger’s impressive growth in students’ learning, exceeding state averages. In 2004, Sanger Unified became one of the first districts in California designated for Program Improvement by the state. Five years later, the district has become a model for reform.
Eleven Sanger schools were named State Distinguished Schools in the past four years. Eight schools were recognized as Title I Academic Achievement Award winners this year. Two weeks ago, every elementary school in the district was recognized by the Bonner Center in the Kremen School for outstanding commitment to character development.
For more information about the conference, contact Ginny Boris, co-director of the Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute, at vboris@csufresno.edu.
