BOISE - More than 400 people including educators, government officials, business leaders, and parents will attend "The Future is Now! High School Redesign Summit " in Boise , Friday, Sept. 23, to discuss why more high school graduation requirements are needed to prepare Idaho 's students for college and the changing workplace. The Idaho State Board of Education is hosting the summit.
The conference begins at 9 a.m. in the Jordan Ballroom of Boise State University 's Student Union Building.
Featured speakers at the event will include Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne; Dr. Henry Johnson, U.S. Department of Education; Matt Gandal, executive vice president of Achieve Inc.; Carol Rava Treat, acting director of education advocacy for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Charlie Toulmin, senior analyst for the National Governors Association.
In August, State Board of Education members unanimously recommended the state's students be required to take more math and science classes. Students would need eight credits in math and six credits in science to graduate from high school, as compared with the current four credits in math and four credits in science. The recommendations were crafted from a taskforce appointed by the Board that included educators, higher education officials, state board members and the Governor's office.
The State Board's curriculum recommendations are aimed at helping Idaho students achieve their highest academic goals. Currently, just 14 percent of students who graduate from Idaho schools attend college and 41 percent of those college-bound students need remediation.
Other proposed changes include: requiring students to take a college placement exam by the end of 11 th grade, having student complete eight elective credits that are "career-focused" before graduation and requiring the completion of a senior project. Students would need to have a "C" average in math, science, language arts and social studies in order to advance from middle school to high school. School districts would also need to offer advanced opportunities for students.
Public hearings will be held around the state on the proposed curriculum requirements before the Board reconsiders the matter in November. The Legislature must approve the changes.
The complete agenda for the summit is as follows:
8 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. Registration
9 to 9:10 a.m. Welcome by State Board of Education President Rod Lewis
9:15 to 9:30 a.m Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne
9:35 to 10:05 a.m. Matt Gandal, Executive Vice-President of Achieve, INC.
10:10 to 10:40 a.m. Carol Rava Treat, Acting Director of Education Advocacy from the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
10:45 to 11 a.m. Break
11:05 to 11:30 a.m. Dane Linn, Education Division Director, National Governors
Association
11:35 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Explanation of Idaho's Recommendations by Idaho State Board Member Sue Thilo and panel discussion by members of the Board's Accelerated Learning Taskforce.
Sue Thilo - Chair of Accelerated Learning Taskforce, Moderator
Cindy Sisson - Math Curriculum Director, Meridian School District
Pat White - Bureau Chief of Idaho State Department of Education's Bureau of Accountability, School Choice and Educational Improvement
Dan Peterson - Director of Research for Idaho's Division of Professional Technical Education
Mark Wheeler - Dean of Enrollment Services for Boise State University
12:30 Lunch
1 p.m. Introduction of keynote speaker by Patricia Kempthorne, First Lady of Idaho
1:05 to 1:30 p.m. Keynote: Dr. Henry Johnson, Assistant Secretary, Elementary and Secondary Education, US Department of Education
1:35 to 2:05 p.m. Business panel: "What Business Needs from Education"
Moderator: Teresa Molitor, Vice President of Human Resources for Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry
Joe Morris, CEO of Kootenai Medical Center
JoAnne Arnold, Vice President of Human Resources, Micron
John Kotek, Deputy Manager of Department of Energy -- Idaho
2:10 to 3 p.m. District panel: "What's working in Idaho: A look at high school redesign"
Jim Soper, Sandpoint High School Principal
Jim Facciano, Coeur d'Alene School District, Advanced Learning Facilitator
Gayle Yackovack, Principal of Gooding High School
3 p.m. Closing remarks - State Board President Rod Lewis
For more information on the Board's proposal, go to http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov
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