16th Annual VAFEPA Conference, Roanoke, Virginia

We are attending the 16th Annual VAFEPA conference today in Roanoke, Virginia. The theme for this year's conference is; "Engaging Students for a Successful Future". There are about fourteen different definitions for the word; "engage" in the dictionary. How do we "engage" students for a successful future? Do we enter into a contract with them, hold their attention, attact or entangle them, or do we pledge or promise them something. I like the last definition of "engage". What a tremendous responsibility and privilege we have as educators to pledge or promise our students a successful future! Promising our students a successful future requires a lot more than just teaching objectives that are required on a standardized test. We need to enrich the students' capacity for learning, we need to be cognizant of the students' varying physical, emotional, and physchological needs, we need to colloborate with the families and communities of our students, we need to be tolerant, patient, and understanding. This is one promise worth keeping.

"Early Education: The Pipeline for Virginia's Future Economic Growth"

At the recent 2nd Annual Governor's Forum on Education & Workforce Training, Gary McCollum, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Cox Communications and former Chairman, Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads, advocated to make early childhood education a priority among current business leaders. Consider the following points that Mr. McCollum made toward the need for quality early childhood education programs.

• Decades of brain research clearly establish that the greatest opportunity to impact a child's development is in their first five years.




• In VA, children who repeat grades cost taxpayers about $80 million dollars a year.




• 62% of VA's incoming 4th graders score below proficient reading levels.




• For every $1 we invest in school-aged children, only 23 cents are spent on preschool-aged children, birth to age 5.




• 1 out of 7 children are not ready for Kindergarten in VA.

It is evident that a skilled future workforce requires early childhood education. As business leaders, we have a powerful voice. We need to continue to raise awareness to the need for early childhood education programs, we need to advocate for greater support, and continually look for ways to improve the early childhood education system. One key factor to this is arming parents with the knowledge to prepare their child for school.

A child who starts behind, stays behind.

"K-12 & Beyond: Growing Tomorrow's Careers with a Focus on STEM"

STEM - Science, Techonoloy, Engineering, Mathematics

A recent panel of corporate executives and educational experts discussed the overwhelming need for high quality STEM education now in our public schools. Why is there such a urgent need and focus? Consider the following points;

• There is a large percentage of low income, minority and immigrant students not pursuing college.




• STEM jobs will be 8% of all jobs in Virginia in 2018.




• Over the next decade 80% of all jobs will require STEM proficiency.




• There is a definite disconnect between education and industry.

So how do we bridge this discrpency or disconnect and provide quality STEM education to our students?

1. Afford teachers the opportunity to enter corporations and businesses over the summer to gain a better understanding of the skill sets that are necessary and how to prepare students for the future workforce.




2. Attain private sector investments for education, particularly STEM education.




3. Offer a variety of STEM programs, including hands-on curriculum in our public schools.




4. Reform the current Standards of Learning in the areas of science and math to better align with industry needs.




5. Articulate a clear vision of STEM education.

What other solutions are possible to moving forward with STEM education and tomorrow's careers?

"Partnering Business & Education to Better Align Workforce Needs"

At the recent 2nd Annual Governor's Forum on Education & Workforce Training in Richmond, Virginia, a panel of distinguished educators and business leaders discussed the need for businesses and higher education institutions to partner and work towards common goals with training our future workforce.

Here are some statistics to support this critical alignment;

• Currently VA graduates about 56, 690 students from higher education institutions annually. This number needs to almost double to 100,000 graduates by the year 2025, in order to reach the goal set by Governor McDonnell.




• 29% of VA college attendees graduate with a Bachelor's degree or higher each year.




• Sadly, over 50,000 individuals (18 years old) in VA lack a GED.

Education must address business needs with regards to the future job market curriculum and skill sets that are necessary in order for college graduates to be highly trained and qualified to fill the job positions available.

What can education and businesses do to continue to improve the alignment of workforce needs?

2nd Annual Governor's Forum on Education & Workforce Training

The Honorable Robert F. McDonnell gave the keynote address on "Aligning the Agenda: Education-Economic Development-Business" at the 2nd Annual Governor's Forum on Education & Workforce Training.

So why and how does education and business align to create a competitively trained workforce to improve the economy? Consider some of the facts that the Governor shared in his keynote address.

• An educated workforce is an essential component in Virginia for being competitive.




• Virginia is ranked number one for small business and ranked second only to CA in the number of trained technology workforce.




• The goal must be when you exit high school you must be career ready or college ready or you will fall behind.




• We need to mesh the needs of the workforce with the degrees being offered at college.




• Community colleges should be the "epi-centers" for workforce development efforts.




• Forge a climate of innovation and entreprenueralship.




• VA schools need to develop STEM curriculum to be ready for the 21st Century, which means more STEM teachers, more STEM learning opportunities, more education and business partnerships and an increase in STEM academic areas.

"To get a good job...you need a good education." Governor Robert McDonnell

Family Engagement Conference - October 21, 2011

With nearly 100 attendees at our Family Engagement Conference; "Moving Beyond Programs to Partnerships", participants gained pertinent information from nationally recognized experts in the field of Family and School Partnerships. Keynote speakers addressed common family involvement barriers and how to overcome them and to further stregthen family-school connections by egaging diverse families.

What are some of the common barriers you face when attempting to boost and sustain family engagement goals?

How do you overcome these obstacles?

Healthy Habits that Lead to Success

We were honored to speak at the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce Women's Luncheon Series on September 22, 2011. We shared our inspiring stories of becoming entrepreneurs and gave practical tips to help business minded women grow in their professional careers. Below is a list of some of the questions that were asked of us. Please share your personal stories of success and "words of wisdom" as it relates to each question. We would love to hear from you.

1. How do you personally juggle work and family?

2. When faced with challenges or barriers, how have you handled them?

3. What advice would you give on effective selling?

4. What would be your one tip on how to excel and succeed in today's economy?

5. As entrepreneurs, who has inspired you?

2011 Small Business Award

We were honored to receive the 2011 Small Business Award, sponsored by the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. We want to extend our gratitude to all of our loyal supporters. We are continually grateful for the opportunities that are affored to us through the pursuit of excellence.

Support for Governor Bob McDonnell and Education Reform

We are excited to support and be a part of Governor Bob McDonnell's educational reform initiatives. We look forward to working with Governor McDonnell on educational reform strategies to promote meaningful learning opportunties for Virginia's children.

Governor Bob McDonnell Listens!

It was great to have the opportunity to network with Governor Robert McDonnell and discuss collaborative strategies for educational reform.

Vice President Joe Biden

We were extremely honored to be able to be in the presence of our distinguished Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, at the first annual America's Promise Grad Nation Summit. Vice President Biden is committted to supporting successful efforts that will accelerate gains in high school completion.

Celebrity Status!

Tichina Arnold, Actress and Education Advocate attended this year's first annual America's Promise Grad Nation Summit in Washington D.C. lending her support to reversing our nation's dropout rate. We were honored to meet her and share her passion for securing our future as a great nation, beginning with student success.

America's Promise Alliance

The crises in graduation rates and college/workforce readiness place America's future at risk. We want to commend Alma Powell, Chair, America's Promise Alliance and Michael Powell, Co-Chair, for their continued efforts to build a Grad Nation. We were honored to meet Michael Powell and share in his vision for building a stronger future.

U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan

Did you know that every 26 seconds a young person drops out of high school? Rand Harbert, Senior Vice President, State Farm Insurance Companies presented U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan with a basketball jersey at America's Promise Grad Nation Summit this week to remind all of us of this growing epidemic in our country with regards to the dropout rate.

Virginia's Parent Involvement Summit

Byron Garrett, former CEO of the National PTA, shares his reflections about the summit with Jim Baldwin, Executive Director of the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals.

Virginia's Parent Involvement Contest

Congratulations to Pittsylvania County Public Schools - Gretna Elementary School for achieving the GRAND PRIZE of $1,000 at Virginia's Parent Involvement Summit!

Virginia's Parent Involvement Contest

Congratulations to Newport News Public Schools - L.F. Palmer Elementary School for achieving 2nd place.

Virginia's Parent Involvement Contest

Congratulations to Montgomery County Public Schools - Falling Branch Elementary for achieving 3rd place.

Virginia's Parent Involvement Contest

Congratulations to Hampton Public Schools for achieving the "Company's Choice" award at Virginia's Parent Involvement Summit.

Virginia's Parent Involvement Contest

Participants at Virginia's Parent Involvement Summit await the announcement of the winner of Virginia's Parent Involvement Contest.