La Verne Hosts Educational Policy Institute of California Conference
Superintendents from various school districts converged on the University of La Verne October 22 in an ongoing effort to discuss—and perhaps eventually reshape—educational policy in California.
The Educational Policy Institute of California (EPIC) fall conference, organized by Tom Harvey, a professor of education at La Verne and board member for the organization, featured several speakers who presented on six key research topics. Those topics, identified last year by nearly three dozen school superintendents, included “Collaborative District and Association Relationships,” discussed by Harvey; “Public School Financing;” and “Closing the Achievement Gap.”
“The purpose of this conference was to share our findings, answer any questions and receive any comments,” Harvey said. “My hope was to bring to light these papers, heighten interest in them, and heighten interest in the Institute.”
According to Harvey, key issues identified during the conference will be studied and researched further throughout 2010 in advance of the next fall conference. Any additional findings will then be disseminated along with existing research to EPIC board members and affiliates, who may choose to initiate any policy changes they deem necessary.
Shawn Judson, Etiwanda School District superintendent, called the presentations “timely” and “some of the top current issues in education.” He attended the conference in hopes of equipping himself with essential knowledge.
“As superintendent, I can make better decisions for my district by coming and learning about the most current research in these areas,” he said.
Shari Fox, superintendent for the San Jacinto Unified School District, attended largely to hear a presentation on public education funding—a topic of importance to her district. However, her interest went beyond that.
“As superintendent, I don’t have time to do as much reading as I used to,” she said. “It was nice to have information on a variety of topics shared with me at one venue.”
EPIC’s mission is to inform and improve the educational policy decisions made by California K-12 policy makers. By hosting the event, La Verne’s hope was to elevate the discourse about educational policy.
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