ASCD Holds 65th Annual Conference & Exhibit Show, March 6-8, in San Antonio, Tex.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thousands of educators, including teachers, principals, superintendents, and school board members, will work with experts at ASCD's 65th Annual Conference and Exhibit Show <www.ascd.org/annualconference> to learn what works best when preparing students for an increasingly competitive world. Running from March 6 to 8, 2010, in San Antonio, Tex., the conference provides educators with valuable professional development essential to improving student achievement in their own schools, districts, and communities.

"This year's conference theme, 'Critical Transformations,' underscores the need for powerful change in learning and teaching to prepare our young people to be competitive, creative, and productive citizens of the 21st century," said ASCD Executive Director Gene R. Carter. "Schools and districts need to integrate technology, reach out to diverse communities, and advocate for sound education policy to ensure we're constantly committed to educating the whole child."

In keeping with this theme, ASCD's conference includes more than 50 technology sessions spanning topics from empowering special needs students through technology and arts integration to raising student achievement by using mobile devices, such as the iPod Touch, to create conversations and learning communities. The conference also offers interactive sessions where participants delve into how they can help learners develop their creativity and critical-thinking skills.

The three-day conference will feature more than 500 sessions on a variety of topics, including best practices for teaching English language learners, brain-based education, formative assessment, coaching and mentoring, professional learning communities, education advocacy, and worldwide education.

For the first time, this year's conference will feature Whole Child Central, an official resource for educators on implementing a whole child approach to teaching and learning. At Whole Child Central, attendees will be able to explore resources to help implement whole child strategies, meet with other attendees to share successes and challenges, participate in a live Whole Child Podcast, sign ASCD's Whole Child Petition, and more.

ASCD will also be introducing Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award, another first at this year's conference. The new award, designed to recognize schools that have implemented a successful whole child framework, will be presented on Sunday, March 7 at ASCD's Leadership Appreciation Luncheon. The winning school will be a featured guest on the live taping of the podcast in Whole Child Central.

In addition to attending sessions, educators can explore the conference's Exhibit Hall, which includes instructional tools, technology offerings, and displays of new classroom products for every grade level and subject. The ASCD Center in the Exhibit Hall will offer free demonstrations of ASCD's PD In Focus™, the interactive, web-based professional learning application and ASCD EDge™, the social networking platform for professional educators.

General Session Speakers

• Geoffrey Canada is an educator, advocate, and creator of the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ), a ninety-seven-block area in central Harlem documented in the New York Times bestseller Whatever It Takes, where students, families, schools, and the community work together for the success of each learner. President Obama wants to replicate HCZ, and he recently included $210 million in his 2011 budget that would include planning and building demonstration sites. Canada will speak to his vision that with hard work, dedication, and prioritization of resources we can create a safe, caring, and stimulating environment for all children.
• Don Tapscott, CEO of Alliance for Converging Technologies, will examine key issues of the "Net Generation" a term he branded to describe students growing up surrounded by digital media. Tapscott will tackle the different tools at educators' disposal and how learning has changed based on this generation's digital consumption.  
• John Merrow, founder of Learning Matters, will reflect on his 35-year reporting career covering education topics for PBS and NPR.  Merrow will discuss the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and what may lie ahead for public schooling, and by extension, American democracy.  

Other Major Speakers

• Peter Yarrow, founder of Operation Respect, will talk about establishing a safe, nurturing, and compassionate environment for children.
• Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, will present his case for the Common Core Standards Initiative. Because this session will be open for questions, look for interesting insight from home-state attendees—Texas being one of only two states that refused to sign-on to the initiative.
• Other special features include influential ASCD authors and educators, such as Robert Marzano, Carol Tomlinson, Grant Wiggins, Jay McTighe, Doug Fisher, Robyn R. Jackson, Frederick M. Hess, Cathy Vatterott, and Yong Zhao.

Conference speakers are available for on-site or follow-up interviews, which can be arranged by ASCD's communications staff. More information about individual sessions and presenters is available online. Members of the media can register to attend the conference by completing the Media Registration Form <http://www.ascd.org/news_media.aspx.>

Founded in 1943, ASCD is a nonprofit educational leadership association that develops programs, products, and services essential to the way educators learn, teach, and lead. We provide expert and innovative solutions in professional development, capacity building, and educational leadership. ASCD's membership comprises more than 170,000 principals, teachers, superintendents, professors of education, and other educators from 136 countries. Our association also has nearly 60 affiliates throughout the world.

SOURCE Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development