ACT State Organizations (/stateorgs/index.html) · We continue our series discussing results of the...
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Transcript of ACT State Organizations (/stateorgs/index.html) · We continue our series discussing results of the...
1/8/2016 ACT State Organizations | ACT State Organizations Newsletter, March 2015 | ACT
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ACT State Organizations(/stateorgs/index.html)
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HELPING PEOPLE ACHIEVE EDUCATION AND WORKPLACE SUCCESS
Introducing Learning@ACTACT recently introduced Learning@ACT, a program that includes two types of professional learningexperiences: product training and professional development. Product training events address the effective useand application of ACT products through ondemand videos, online webinars, and inperson workshops.Professional development events, available only through inperson workshops, answer the “Now what?”questions that so often follow data analysis by integrating assessment data into K–12 instructional andcurricular improvement.
For more information, visit the Learning@ACT website (/learningatact), call 888.826.1956, or [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]).
2014 ACT State Organizations Educational and WorkforceIssues Survey—Part 2We continue our series discussing results of the 2014 ACT State Organizations Educational and WorkforceIssues Survey. In February, we shared results from respondents in K–12 education, and this month wepresent the results from postsecondary respondents (/stateorgs/pdf/StateOrgSurveyPSESectorReport.pdf).
The survey asked more than 12,000 current and past ACT State Organizations members in K–12 education,postsecondary education, or workforce to identify their state’s most significant policy issues in education andworkforce development. Of the more than 2,000 survey respondents, the vast majority (84 percent)represented K–12 education, followed by 15 percent in postsecondary education, and 1 percent in workforce.
Spring Summit for ACT State Organizations LeadersState representatives and council chairs will convene in Tampa, Florida, March 11–13, to hearupdates from ACT leaders, and to work in district sessions to define paths for progress aligned to the visionfor ACT State Organizations and ACT. If you have questions or comments you would like shared at thisevent, please contact your state representative, council chair, or district manager so those can be presentedduring the summit. Follow summit conversations and updates on Twitter: @ACT (https://twitter.com/ACT)#ACTStateOrgs (https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACTStateOrgs).
Connect with ACT State Organizations on LinkedInFollow ACT State Organizations on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/actstateorganizations?trk=bizbrandtreeconame) to receive daily updates on ACT, ACT State Organizationshostedevents, policy papers, research, and an inside look at the people who drive ACT State Organizations. Weappreciate your input, so feel free to comment and make your opinion known. Better yet, start a conversationby sharing posts within your LinkedIn network.
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As the deadline for the ACT College and Career Readiness Campaign hits on March 13, many of the statecouncils in the Southeast district are focused on selecting their exemplars. All nine Southeast district statesare participating in the campaign this year, six of which are councilled.
Alabama: The Alabama Council welcomes its newest member, Dr. Bruce Crawford, interim vice chancellor forinstruction and student services with the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education. The Councilspent time this month reflecting on its conference and began making plans for another event later this year.
Florida: Four new members have joined the Florida Council:
Michael Childs, testing supervisor, Hillsborough Community CollegeNyce Daniel, principal, Lindsey Hopkins Technical CollegeRita Rubin, academic advisor, U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering at Florida Gulf Coast UniversityDr. Carlos Viera, district chair, MiamiDade County Public Schools
Mississippi: Mississippi has been very busy planning its June 16 conference. The theme is LaunchingStudents to College and Career Readiness and will include these breakout sessions: Weekday Testing,Barriers to LowIncome/FirstGeneration Students, and ACT Aspire®.
North Carolina: Council Member Spotlight—Sarah Martin has served as a parentrepresentative on numerous school improvement teams in the Wake County PublicSchool System, where she realized the important role student achievement dataplay in charting educational plans for students and how that data affects the work ofprofessional learning teams at schools throughout the state. As an officer of theNorth Carolina Parent Teacher Association (http://www.ncpta.org/), Martin stronglysupports the use of high standards for college and career readiness, and is learningmore about ACT WorkKeys® and the ways it can help students prepare for careersafter graduation. She also enjoys networking with education leaders from across the state through the work ofthe North Carolina Council and encourages other parents to explore these opportunities as well. “As a parenthighly involved in North Carolina K–12 education, I have found the work of the North Carolina ACT StateOrganization Council to be both educational and eyeopening,” she said.
Tennessee: The Tennessee Council welcomes four new members to its ranks:
Dr. Paul Changas, executive director, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Department of Assessmentand EvaluationMarc Hill, chief executive officer, Nashville Area Chamber of CommerceSteve McKellips, interim vice provost for enrollment services, University of MemphisDr. Randy McPherson, manager of student support, Shelby County Schools
February has been busy for the Midwest district with several state conferences and more planned for thisspring. Deliberations for the ACT College and Career Readiness Campaign are going strong, with Indiana,Michigan, and South Dakota hosting multiple calls and meetings to select their finalists and state exemplars,in addition to four other Midwest district councils that are participating in the selection process. Many of ourMidwest council leaders will be attending the Spring Summit for ACT State Organizations Leaders in Tampaand look forward to reconnecting as a district to share thoughts and ideas.
Illinois: The Illinois Council will meet later this month in Bloomington to process its two Decemberconferences and begin planning for this summer and the 2015–16 school year.
Southeast District News
Bobby Rush,[email protected]
(mailto:[email protected])@bobbyrush027
(http://twitter.com/bobbyrush027)
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Midwest District News
Rose Babington,[email protected]
(mailto:[email protected])@rose_babington
(http://twitter.com/rose_babington)
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Iowa: The Iowa Council will host its annual conference March 4 in Ames.
Minnesota: The Minnesota Council engaged more than 300 attendees in its annual conference. Thanksespecially to Council leaders Phil Trout and Rachel Vilsack for their hard work on this successful event.
Missouri: The Missouri Council will host conferences March 2 in St. Louis(http://www.cvent.com/events/missouriactstateorganizationconferencestlouis/eventsummary24bebd9be54849fbac6acf567ed1717a.aspx?hq_e=el&hq_m=3607891&hq_l=2&hq_v=3befee2a01) andMarch 3 in Kansas City (http://www.cvent.com/events/missouriactstateorganizationconferencekansascity/eventsummary7b51a28b0b5e46398e0fc7d875fd8cff.aspx?hq_e=el&hq_m=3607891&hq_l=3&hq_v=3befee2a01).
Nebraska: The last conference of the Midwest District takes place April 9 with the Nebraska conference(http://www.cvent.com/events/nebraskaactstateorganizationconference/eventsummarycd5861779c4b44dab687f7bccfdd07f4.aspx) in Lincoln.
North Dakota: The North Dakota Council plans to meet in early April in Bismarck.
Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Council hosted more than 500 participants at its state conference in Middleton.Like Minnesota, Wisconsin has a long tradition of strong conferences. Many thanks and congratulations to theCouncil for its hard work and success, especially Sharon Hunter and Denny Roark.
Arizona: The Arizona Council had a successful meeting in Glendale in February to review applications for theArizona ACT College and Career Readiness Campaign and to begin planning for its 2015 ACT StateOrganization Conference. Thank you to Dr. Heather Cruz for hosting the February meeting at Peoria UnifiedSchool District.
Arkansas: A special welcome to the new Arkansas ACT State Organization members who joined in February.The Arkansas Council hopes you will find the information valuable in your everyday work with students,employers, and community members. If you have any recommendations on types of information to offer,updates, or events, please contact your district manager, Linda Vasquez (mailto:[email protected]).Special thanks to Robert McGill, Willie Morris, and Tony Thurman for their years of service to the ArkansasCouncil.
California: Equity and access for students are two areas driving California Council activities this year. Councilmembers just wrapped up their review of the California ACT College and Career Readiness Campaignexemplars. Thank you to everyone who submitted an application for consideration. Thanks also go to Councilmember Brett Schraeder for hosting the February meeting at Occidental College. Special recognition goes toNancy Caine, who has served on the California Council for many years and has been a longtime advocate forstudents and practitioners. The Council will continue to advocate for students, teachers, and counselors andmake sure their voices are a part of Council initiatives.
Hawai‘i: The Hawai‘i Council will meet this month to work on the final details of its ACT State OrganizationConference, Using Data for Student Success. The Council has been working very hard the past six months toplan an exciting, informative, and empowering conference. The conference keynote speaker, Kim Shearer,was the Kentucky 2012 Teacher of the Year. She will be sharing tools and resources with teachers andcounselors on implementing change at a district level. Register (http://www.cvent.com/events/hawaiiactstateorganizationconference/eventsummary105658f6db834d0f808aae26f8d48a27.aspx) today and join us.
Louisiana: The Louisiana Council had a successful meeting in Baton Rouge to review its applications for theLouisiana ACT College and Career Readiness Campaign. Congratulations to everyone who submitted anapplication—your initiatives to promote college and career readiness within your communities serve as anexample of how entities can collaborate with others to help students succeed. Special recognition goes out tothe students who were considered for the statewide award. Thank you very much to the Louisiana Board ofRegents for hosting the Council meeting.
New Mexico: The New Mexico Council met in February to continue planning for the 2015 New Mexico ACTState Organization Conference. The Council is seeking dedicated educators and workforce professionals toserve as Council leaders. For more information, please contact your district manager, Linda Vasquez
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Southwest District News
Linda Vasquez,[email protected]
(mailto:[email protected])@lindam_v (http://twitter.com/lindam_v)
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(mailto:[email protected]). The Council will meet in person in April in Albuquerque, so please stay tunedfor more updates on the conference.
Alaska: As the newest council to ACT State Organizations, the Alaska Council is educating itself on ACTprograms and services, particularly The ACT® and ACT WorkKeys. Both of these programs directly impactstudents across the state, so the Council is dedicating a portion of each monthly meeting to learn about theseACT offerings.
Colorado: Colorado has begun planning for its conference in September. In addition, the Colorado Council hasplanned a few guest speakers from the Colorado Department of Higher Education for its upcoming meetings.
Idaho and Oregon: Councils in both states continue to explore opportunities for growth and initiatives.
Kansas: The Kansas Council is mixing up its April conference agenda this year after an extremely successfulcall for proposals. It will offer an extra group of concurrent breakout sessions due to the number of sessionsthat focus on local college and career readiness initiatives.
Montana: In line with its theme of growth this year, the Montana Council continues to investigate ways tospread the word about the Council. Council members look forward to convening in person in April.
Nevada: The Nevada Council held an extremely successful conferenceFebruary 6 at the University of Nevada, Reno. Feedback from conferenceattendees was quite positive. Steve Hill, director of the Governor’s Office ofEconomic Development College, kicked off the day with a strong keynoteaddress on Nevada’s economy. Breakout sessions offered by NevadaGEAR UP; Jump Start College; ACT; Nevada Department of Employment,Training, and Rehabilitation; Truckee Community College; University ofNevada, Reno; College of Southern Nevada; Guinn Policy Center; andNevada Succeeds all contributed to the excellent content of the conference.
Student Ivón PadillaRodriguez was the lunch speaker. Homeless in highschool, Ivón persevered and used her circumstances as motivation. ATruman Scholar and fervent advocate for lowincome and minoritypopulations, Ivón inspired conference attendees with her story. Read moreabout Ivón (http://www.unr.edu/nevadatoday/news/2014/ivonpadillarodriguez). She is pictured here with the Nevada ACT Council Chair JoeCline. Thanks to all for a successful and enjoyable event.
Utah: The Utah Council continues planning for its March 19 conference in Salt Lake City.
Wyoming: The Wyoming Council continues to monitor the assessment discussion in the state. Leaders fromACT Policy, Advocacy, and Government Relations participated in the Council’s monthly conference call todiscuss the current state of assessment in Wyoming.
The beginning of March in the Northeast not only signifies the end of winter (we hope), but also the kickoff towhat is shaping up to be a busy spring full of ACT State Organizations activity.
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont: Leaders from thesestates will convene at a soontobedetermined date to begin planning for a New England ACT event tocoincide with the ACT College and Career Readiness Campaign. All involved are excited about the potential ofthis oneofakind event for the Northeast. More to come as this new initiative progresses.
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Northwest District News
Jo Martell,[email protected]
(mailto:[email protected])@jo_martell (http://twitter.com/jo_martell)
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Northeast District News
Denton DeSotel,[email protected]
(mailto:[email protected])@denton_desotel
(http://twitter.com/denton_desotel)
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Maryland, Delaware, and DC: The Maryland, Delaware, and DC Council will be meeting to discuss next stepsfor the State Council. The Council, in addition to solidifying its representation, plans to discuss activities toelevate awareness of ACT in the region.
New Jersey and New York: New Jersey and New York are recruiting state council members and working toexpand ACT State Organizations membership within their states. If you are dedicated to the mission andpurpose of ACT State Organizations and have an interest in guiding its future direction, please contact yourdistrict manager, Denton DeSotel (mailto:[email protected]), to find out how to become involved and tolearn more about the time commitment associated with serving as a state council member.
Ohio: Congratulations to the Ohio ACT State Organization for a successful state conference in late January.The conference’s 400+ K–12, postsecondary, and workforce attendees learned about the latest education andworkforce policies within Ohio, honored this year’s Ohio ACT College and Career Readiness Campaignexemplars, and heard inspiring words from Olympic gold medalist and worldrecord holder, Butch Reynolds.
Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Council met in late February in State College to select the PennsylvaniaACT College and Career Readiness Campaign exemplars. Thank you to the Pennsylvania Council for its workin spreading the word about the campaign and undergoing the difficult work of choosing just one exemplar percategory among a very deserving field of nominees.
West Virginia: The West Virginia Council is in the process of determining a spring date for the group toconvene. The Council has placed a particular emphasis on fostering conversations that span K–12,postsecondary, and workforce development professionals within West Virginia, and will be looking atopportunities to connect with organizations and initiatives in place in the state.
Ohio state representative Beth Dalonzo andchair Jefferson BlackburnSmith presented theOhio ACT College and Career ReadinessCampaign Student Readiness award to LoniSammons.
More than 400 people attended the Ohio ACTCollege and Career Readiness Campaignluncheon.
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MARCH 2015
In this Issue
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Introducing Learning@ACT2014 ACT State OrganizationsEducational and Workforce IssuesSurvey—Part 2Spring Summit for ACT StateOrganizations LeadersConnect with ACT StateOrganizations on LinkedInSoutheast District NewsMidwest District NewsSouthwest District NewsNorthwest District NewsNortheast District News
Relevant Links
Learning@ACT (/learningatact/)Postsecondary Survey Results(/stateorgs/pdf/StateOrgSurveyPSESectorReport.pdf)ACT State Organizations on LinkedIn(https://www.linkedin.com/company/actstateorganizations?trk=bizbrandtreeconame)ACT College and Career ReadinessCampaign (/readinesscampaign/)
Contact Us
Suzanne ConquestDirector, ACT State [email protected](mailto:[email protected])
Savanah SchottProgram [email protected](mailto:[email protected])
ACT State Organizations500 ACT DriveIowa City, Iowa 52243
[email protected](mailto:[email protected])
Join us on LinkedIn(https://www.linkedin.com/company/actstateorganizations?trk=nmp_rec_act_company_photo)
Join us on Twitter(https://twitter.com/hashtag/actstateorgs)
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
March 2
MO State Organization Conference(St. Louis)
March 3
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MO State Organization Conference(Kansas City)WY Council Conference Call
March 4
IA State Organization ConferenceGA Council Conference Call
March 5
KS Council Conference CallHI Council Meeting
March 11–13
Spring Summit for ACT StateOrganizations Leaders
March 16
FL Council Conference CallIL Council Meeting
March 17
KY Council Conference CallAR Council Conference CallOR Council Conference CallID Council Conference CallAL Council Conference CallIL Council Conference Call
March 19
UT State Organization Conference
March 26
KS Council Conference CallTN Council Conference Call
