The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) and the EAST (Environmental and Spatial Technology) Initiative are pleased to announce the first Vision Building Workshop of the 2007/2008 school year. This workshop for Arkansas schools considering implementation of an EAST program will be held in the Lecture Hall at the Campus Center at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock, Arkansas, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 15, 2007.
The Vision Building Workshop is a chance to get an overview of the initiative and a chance to see EAST students and projects face-to-face. Matt Dozier, President of the EAST Initiative, will present the EAST model, and representatives from the Arkansas Department of Education will be on hand to answer questions about this year’s opportunities for startup funding. Additionally, EAST students from the area will share their projects. This workshop is the best opportunity for prospective EAST schools to see, hear, ask questions, and experience EAST in action. This is the time for local teams to seriously begin the process that leads to local school adoption of the EAST project in the local community. It is a required activity for the Arkansas Department of Education Grant Program.
Experience has taught that the EAST programs having the greatest success are the ones that start with the strongest foundation of local support. Therefore, it is recommended that a team made up of at least five people from different areas of the community attend the meeting. Team members should include a district level administrator, building level administrator, counselor (or whoever schedules students for classes) and a teacher representative. Additionally, it is recommended that the team members bring representatives from other community groups that support the local school, if possible (parents, school board members, interested members of the business community, district technology staff, curriculum coordinators, etc.).
Please contact Melanie Bradford, Division Leader of Research and Technology, melanie.bradford@arkansas.gov or Matt Dozier matt@eastproject.org if the local district plans to attend.
Direct further questions about this workshop to Melanie Bradford at (501) 371-5005.