Educators from 12 States Gather at the College Board Western Regional Forum in San Diego, Feb. 22–23

NEW YORK — On Feb. 22 and 23, the College Board Western Regional Office will host a conference of approximately 350 secondary school and college educators, administrators and counselors from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The event will take place at the Loews Coronado Bay in San Diego. 

The theme of the conference, “Collaborate: A Blueprint for Student Success,” sets the tone for thought-provoking sessions specifically geared toward the Western Region and its distinct issues. Participants will come together to discuss, among other topics, rigorous instruction and strategies to make assessment data transparent, accessible and actionable.   

Scott Page, a popular teacher and speaker who studies how social, political and economic systems work, will deliver the keynote address. Page researches how diversity improves performance and decision making, when ‘diversity’ means not what we look like on the outside, but rather than what we look like within: the tools and abilities that make each of us unique. Page is director of the Center for the Study of Complex Systems at the University of Michigan where he serves as Leonid Hurwicz Collegiate Professor of Complex Systems, Economics, and Political Science. He is also on the external faculty of the Santa Fe Institute.  Page will give his address on Friday, Feb. 22, starting at 9:00 a.m.

On Friday evening, Jack Scott, Chancellor Emeritus of the California Community College System, and Nancy Coolidge, Coordinator of Government Relations at University of California Office of the President, will be honored at a reception which begins at 5:30 p.m.

In addition, exceptional teachers, institutions and initiatives will be honored with several national and regional awards on Friday morning and Saturday at lunch. Awards will include:

• 2013 Annual Distinguished Service Awards
• 2013 CollegeKeys Compact  Innovation Awards
• Bob Costas Grant for the Teaching of Writing
• Jaime Escalante AP ® Award
• National SpringBoard ® Demonstration Site Award 

Dozens of additional sessions will examine the most timely and relevant topics in education. For example:

Friday, Feb. 22

• Creating a Data-Driven Response-to-Intervention System (11:00 a.m.)
• An Early Glimpse at WICHE’s Upcoming Projections of High School Graduates (11:00 a.m.)
• Strategies, Struggles and Success: Students Share Their Experiences with Rigorous Instruction (12:30 p.m.)
• Career and Technical Education (CTE): What is the College Board's Role? (2:00 p.m.)
• Politics and Education: 2012 Legislative Review and Looking Ahead to 2013 (3:30 p.m.) 

Saturday, Feb. 23

• Strategic Recruitment Leads to Student Success (9:00 a.m.)
• Breaking Through: Communicating to Students and the Public in the Noise and Clutter of Today's Media, moderated by Gabriela Teissier, Anchor, KMEX Univision Channel 34, CA (10:30 a.m.)
• Fostering Engineering Interest in Girls: An Institutional Responsibility, A Societal Gain (2:30 p.m.) 

All sessions are open to the media. To arrange for a press pass or interviews, please contact the College Board Communications office at 212-713-8052 or [email protected].