GACIS Fall Conference Tentative Agenda
     September 22-24, 2009

(Morning and afternoon breaks with refreshments are scheduled.)

GACIS Fall Conference Presenters
Debra Pickering, PhD
Dr. Debra Pickering consults with schools and districts nationally and internationally as vice president of field services for Marzano Research Laboratory. Throughout her educational career, Dr. Pickering has gained practical experience as a classroom teacher, building leader, and district administrator. For many years, she has used this experience to provide training and support to K-12 teachers and administrators as they seek to continually improve student learning. In addition to her work with schools, Dr. Pickering has coauthored, with Dr. Robert Marzano, educational books and manuals, including Dimensions of Learning, Classroom Instruction That Works, Classroom Management That Works, and Building Academic Vocabulary.

With a combination of theoretical grounding and over three decades of practical experience, Dr. Pickering has worked with educators to translate theory into practice. Her work continues to focus on the study of learning and the development of resources for curriculum, instruction, and assessment to help all educators meet the needs of all students. Dr. Pickering has a master's degree in school administration and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction, with an emphasis in cognitive psychology.

During this interactive keynote, Dr. Pickering will work to increase participants' understanding of classroom strategies that have been shown to increase student achievement. She will focus on the roles of teachers and administrators for successful implementation of these strategies. Building on the foundational work of Robert Marzano, Dr. Pickering will provide recommendations that should both validate what participants already know and do and encourage them to continue to improve. All recommendations will be directly tied to the potential effects on student learning.

We know, for example, that communicating clear learning goals, providing effective feedback, using nonlinguistic representations, and identifying similarities and differences are all strategies that work. The challenge, of course, is to foster and support the use of these strategies and maximize their potential for enhancing student learning.

Dr. Jeffrey Wilhelm
Dr. Jeffrey Wilhelm is a well-known teacher, author, and presenter. His interests include team teaching, co-constructing inquiry-driven curriculum with students, and pursuing teacher research. His recent research agenda includes studying how student reading, writing, and thinking can be supported through the use of art, drama, and technology. Most recently, he studied adolescent boys and their reading, attitudes, aspirations, and the school opportunities available to them for actualizing and performing different ways of being literate. He is particularly interested in supporting the learning of students who are often considered to be reluctant or resistant.

A classroom teacher for 15 years, Dr. Wilhelm is currently a professor at Boise State University, where he teaches courses in middle and secondary level literacy. He works in local schools as part of the Professional Development Site Network (PDSN). He is the founding director of the Maine Writing Project and the Boise State writing project.

The provoking findings of his study on boys and literacy achievement are published in Reading Don't Fix No Chevys: The Role of Literacy in the Lives of Young Men (coauthored with Michael Smith, Heinemann Publishers) and Going With the Flow: How to Engage Boys (and Girls) in Their Literacy Learning. This study won the NCTE's David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in English Education.

Dr. Wilhelm is the author or coauthor of 15 books on literacy and teaching. Among these are: Improving Comprehension with Think Alouds: Modeling What Good Readers Do; Action Strategies for Deepening Comprehension; Reading IS Seeing; and Engaging Readers and Writers With Inquiry.

GACIS Special Interest Sessions
While budget cuts and revenue shortfalls are a reality, we must continue to close the achievement gap and raise achievement levels in math, language arts, science, and social studies. During the Special Interest Sessions, Georgia educational leaders will share effective strategies, methods, processes, activities, and incentives to increase student achievement to close the gap. Some of the best practices to be shared during the GACIS Special Interest Sessions include:

Utilizing GAPSS to Close the Cracks in Student Achievement
Griffin-Spalding Schools

A Framework for Instructional Leaders to Guide Their Work
Lumpkin County Schools

Improving Instruction with a Districtwide Focused Walk Process
DeKalb County Schools

Reading Recovery and Leveled Literacy Instruction (LLI)
Annie Belle Clark Primary, Tift County Schools

Professional Learning Communities
Madison County Middle School

Linking the Language
Echols County Schools

Moving Students with Disabilities toward AYP
DeKalb County Schools

Integrating Academic Rigor and Critical Thinking Skills
GaDOE

Online Courses — Georgia Virtual School

Other topics may include:
Stimulus and Audits, Literacy, Student Assessment, and Mathematics

About Your Event
The Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center & Hotel, located on the beautiful, historic campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, provides educational conferences, courses, and programs for lifelong learners. A total living and learning environment, the Georgia Center includes a 200-room hotel, restaurants, banquet areas, conference rooms, auditoriums, a fitness center, and a computer lab — all under one roof. As a unit of UGA's Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, the Center brings the University's teaching, research, and service expertise to the people of Georgia and beyond! For more information, visit www.georgiacenter.uga.edu.

Special Needs
If you require special services or have dietary restrictions, contact your event coordinator, Melanie Baer, at 706-542-6638 or Melanie.Baer@georgiacenter.uga.edu by September 16, 2009.

Lodging at the Georgia Center Hotel
For your convenience, a block of rooms is being held for your event until 5:00 p.m. ET, August 31, 2009. Policies: (1) Tax Exemption — The State of Georgia only allows tax-exempt charges for a payment by a state-issued credit card or check or by a direct bill to a state agency (with a Georgia State Tax Exemption Certificate). (2) Lodging Cancellation — Cancel your reservation by 4:00 p.m. ET the day prior to your scheduled arrival to avoid being charged one night's room and tax. (3) Check-in is 4:00 p.m. ET; checkout is 11:00 a.m. ET. (4) At check-in, you must present your method of payment or a completed credit card authorization form (call 800-884-1381 for a copy, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET).

Travel Information
Athens, Georgia, is located about 60 miles northeast of Atlanta. For directions and airport shuttle information, see www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/directions Athens is served by Athens-Ben Epps Airport as well as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is located about 90 minutes southwest of Athens. Scheduled ground shuttle service and rental car services are available between Hartsfield-Jackson and the Georgia Center.

Parking Information
Parking is available in UGA's South Campus Parking Deck, which is located adjacent to the Georgia Center ($10 per night; vehicle height limit, 7 feet). If the South Campus Parking Deck fills up, parking attendants will direct you to UGA's Carlton Street Parking Deck, which is located nearby, and a shuttle will be provided to take you to the Georgia Center and back.

Event Cancellation Policies
(1) A cancellation received by 5:00 p.m. ET on or before September 11, 2009, will be refunded, minus a $35 processing fee. No refunds will be issued thereafter; substitutions will be allowed. (2) To change or cancel your registration, call 800-884-1381, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. (3) If an event is cancelled for any reason, the Georgia Center will not be responsible for any charges related to travel.

GACIS/GaDOE
New Curriculum Leaders Program (NCLP)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Topics

• Assessment
• Federal Programs
• Rules and Policies
• Curriculum-GPS
• School Improvement

NCLP is a collaborative initiative of the Georgia Association of Curriculum and Instructional Supervisors (GACIS) and the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) to support new curriculum leaders and instructional supervisors during their first year in the position. At a minimum, NCLP will meet in September, December, and March. GACIS will cover the cost of the meetings for GACIS members; the participants will be responsible for travel and lodging.

GACIS Membership
Membership is for one year — 7/1/09-6/30/10. No part of affiliate dues is deductible as a charitable expense.

For conference information, contact:
Deborah White at dwhite@gael.org or John Wight at JWight@doe.k12.ga.us

For logistical information, contact:
Melanie Baer at melanie.baer@georgiacenter.uga.edu

Registration