Muhlenberg College To Host Governor's Academy For Urban Education
The 2005 Governor’s Academy for Urban Education will be held at Muhlenberg College from Saturday June 25 through Thursday June 30, 2005.Wednesday, June 15, 2005 01:59 PM
Approximately 250 educators from throughout the Commonwealth will attend sessions related to urban issues as well as academic standards in language arts and mathematics. The event is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and co-sponsored by the State System of Higher Education and Muhlenberg College.
Registration is from noon – 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 25. The Academy begins with an orientation session at 1:45 p.m. Kim Marshall, a nationally-recognized leader in urban education, will provide the keynote address at 5:30 p.m. in Moyer Forum. The Academy concludes on Thursday at 1 p.m. following an awards presentation. Successful participants earn two graduate credits that may be applied to Act 48 certification requirements.
The program emphasizes professional development that provides (1) ways to successfully differentiate instruction for diverse learners; (2) coordination between language arts and mathematics faculty to create tools and examples for the integration of mathematics and language arts instruction; (3) concurrent language arts and mathematics sessions to increase training; and (4) opportunities to dialogue with colleagues about instructional and educational concepts.
Language arts standards to be addressed include learning to read independently and types of writing, reading critically in the content areas, reading analyzing and interpreting literature, and characteristics and functions of the English language. Mathematical standards include numbers, number systems, and number relationships, measurement and estimation, mathematical reasoning and connections, mathematical problem solving and communication, and geometry.
Additional sessions enable educators to address educational sessions in an urban setting, implement technology tools in effective instruction in classrooms, incorporate effective assessment methodologies, and understand and interpret PSSA scoring rubrics. The academy’s schedule is posted at www.pa-academy.org/gua.
Dr. Mary Constant Byrne, lecturer in biology, serves as the conference coordinator for Muhlenberg College and is assisted by Dr. George Bonekemper , PDS Coordinator. Cathy Kim, literacy professor at Muhlenberg, and Mary Ann Siegle, a teacher at Trexler Middle school, conduct the language arts workshop for middle level teachers.
This is the fourth consecutive year that Muhlenberg College has hosted the Governor’s Academy for Urban Education. Approximately two hundred teachers and administrators participated last year including representatives from Allentown, Bethlehem, Chester, Erie, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Reading School Districts.
