Southern Regional Education Board

Founded in 1948, the Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with leaders and policy-makers in 16 member states to improve pre-K through postsecondary education. Through many nationally recognized programs and services, SREB’s mission is helping states achieve the 12 Challenge to Lead Goals for Education.

SREB States Are National Leaders in Education Technology
Most Southern Regional Education Board states rate among the nation’s leaders in K-12 education technology — providing many of the region’s students with the greatest access to technology and online courses.

The results come from the Technology Counts 2008 special report by Education Week, the leading national publication covering K-12 education. Released this week, the report issued letter grades to states based on 14 indicators in three major areas of technology policy and practice: access, use and capacity.

West Virginia — one of the 16 SREB states — rated No. 1 in the nation overall for education technology in the report. Seven of the top 10 highest-rated states are SREB states.

Thanks in part to the SREB Educational Technology Cooperative, which brings together education technology leaders from the 16 SREB states regularly for training and collaboration, nearly all SREB states have state virtual schools that provide online courses to middle grades and high school students. See this press release or visit www.edweek.org.

1. West Virginia

2. South Dakota

3. Georgia

4. Virginia

5. Kentucky

6. North Dakota

7. Florida

8. Louisiana

9. Pennsylvania

10. North Carolina

Report: Major Demographic Shifts to Impact K-12 and Higher Education
The number of Hispanic public high school graduates in 2008 in SREB states is projected to more than double by 2022, a higher rate of increase than in the nation, according to a report from the Denver-based Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, SREB’s counterpart for higher education in the West.

Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates by State and Race/Ethnicity 1992-2022, shows that many SREB states will see far greater proportions of Hispanic high school graduates and prospective students in colleges and career preparation in the coming years. For more details, see this press release. Or see the SREB Fact Book on Higher Education and state-by-state reports on higher education data trends.

SREB States Lead the Nation in Quality of Pre-K Programs
SREB states continue to lead the nation in the overall quality of publicly funded prekindergarten programs for 4-year-olds, a national report shows. The National Institute for Early Education Research’s State of Preschool 2007 shows that most of the nation’s 4-year-olds still do not have access to state-funded prekindergarten.

The report ranks all 50 states on the percentage of children served and spending per child. It also compares the number of quality standards each state meets. Oklahoma is No. 1 in the nation in providing access to state-funded prekindergarten classes, serving 68 percent of the state’s 4-year-olds. Seven of the top 10 states in this category are SREB states: Florida was second, Georgia third, West Virginia fourth, Texas fifth, South Carolina seventh and Maryland 10th. For more details, see this press release. Or visit www.nieer.org. Also, see more information on pre-K programs in SREB states.

SREB States’ Growth Will Create Educational Challenges

More than half of the nation’s population growth over the next 20 years will be in SREB states, according to Fact Book Bulletin: SREB States Lead Growth As U.S. Population Tops 300 Million. Dramatic increases in the Hispanic population and in older adults are expected, along with a decline in working-age adults — which could lead to ongoing educational challenges for the South. For details, see the report and the press release.

States Need to Take Action and Smooth Transition from High School to College and Careers

The nation’s work force will be in jeopardy unless all high school students are better prepared for college study and today’s highly skilled workplace, a new SREB report says. Many high schools in SREB states focus primarily on students who plan to enroll in four-year colleges, overlooking the students who will enter community colleges, technical schools or the job market. As a result, many students are dropping out of high school and are on a lifetime path to low-wage jobs or unemployment, notes Lost in Transition: Building a Better Path from School to College and Careers.

The report recommends actions SREB states can take to encourage all students to prepare for the challenges ahead. It is based on discussions by nearly 500 state leaders at forums sponsored by SREB and the League for Innovation in the Community College.

SREB States Need to Raise Quality of School Leadership Systems

SREB states are making progress in developing school leadership systems to ensure that every public school has a principal who can improve student performance — but states need to accelerate their efforts in order to meet their own achievement goals, a new SREB report shows. Schools Need Good Leaders Now: State Progress in Creating a Learning-Centered School Leadership System calls for a new generation of school leaders who look beyond administrative tasks and put curriculum and learning first. Individual states’ rates of improvement in school leadership systems and practices vary greatly. For state-by-state information, click on the link to the report above. For general information, see the press release.

SREB Region Leads Nation in State-Funded Prekindergarten, But Still Needs to Improve

SREB states are national leaders in providing state-funded prekindergarten for 4-year-olds, but states need to take further action to ensure that all children are ready for school, a new SREB report shows. Ready to Start: Ensuring High-Quality Prekindergarten in SREB States reviews states' progress in improving prekindergarten access. The majority of America's 4-year-olds attending prekindergarten last year were enrolled in SREB states, the report shows. It calls for a greater focus on quality, sustainable funding, teacher training and other actions to help more children prepare for school — especially those from impoverished and English-as-a-second-language families. Click on the link above to read the report, or read this press release.

2007 SREB Fact Book on Higher Education and 16 State-Specific Featured Facts Reports Now Available
The SREB Fact Book on Higher Education is one of the nation's most comprehensive collections of data on higher education. The 50th anniversary edition continues a SREB tradition dating back to 1956 of providing comparative national, regional and state-specific data highlighting trends that affect colleges and universities. This year's highlights include historic increases in college enrollment, details on population changes that could challenge SREB states' continued education progress, and the growing college affordability gap for lower- and middle-income students. Also, updates on higher education-related data for each of the 16 SREB states are available in individual states' Featured Facts reports. For decades, state leaders, policy-makers, researchers and journalists have used the Fact Book to find useful data quickly — and to learn more about long-term trends and developments in SREB states and across the nation.

SREB States Take Action on Teacher Pay

Teacher pay continues to be a hot issue for states, particularly since it is likely the largest expenditure in education budgets. SREB states continue to focus on ways to use salary funds to address priorities such as attracting and retaining teachers, raising student achievement and closing achievement gaps. For the latest on average salaries, including an update on recent incentive pay programs, pilot projects and other legislative actions that affect teacher compensation, click on Focus on Teacher Pay and Incentives: Recent Legislative Actions and Update on Salary Averages.

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Southern Regional Education Board
592 10th St. N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30318-5776
(404) 875-9211