News Releases

How are states’ new school accountability plans focusing on college and career readiness?

Many SREB states went above and beyond the basic requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which addresses readiness but does not require a comprehensive approach. An SREB analysis of state plans across the South identifies five ways states prioritize readiness for all students, statewide. They used the law’s flexibility to:

Twelve schools in Jefferson County, Alabama, are working together to improve 8th and 9th grade math through a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to the Southern Regional Education Board.

Three educators and a South Carolina high school were honored this week with Southern Regional Education Board awards. These recognize outstanding teaching and leadership with SREB Readiness Courses, which help underprepared students succeed in high school and postsecondary studies. The winners were honored at SREB’s Readiness Courses Institute in Orlando, Florida.

SARA collaboration among states expands online options for students, reduces costs for institutions

Puerto Rico was approved by the Southern Regional Education Board to join the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)

The Executive Committee of the Southern Regional Education Board has launched a search for the organization’s next president, to succeed Dave Spence, who will retire in summer 2018.

SREB has published interactive reports on school accountability plans in 16 states. With a focus on college and career readiness, state profiles distill complex information about each state’s plan to help policymakers  understand and compare accountability measures.

The Southern Regional Education Board today launched the Commission on College Affordability in the South to focus state policies on the goal of affordability for students.

States that want to use the way they fund higher education to increase college completion should clearly define their statewide goals, funding sources and measures, emphasizing number of graduates over graduation rates, says a new policy brief from the Southern Regional Education Board.

Dr. Dionne P. Stephens, an assistant professor of psychology at Florida International University in Miami, was presented one of two national Faculty Mentor of the Year Awards on Oct. 28 at the nation’s largest gathering of underrepresented minority Ph.D. students and faculty.

Dr. Stacy Blake-Beard, a professor at the Simmons School of Management in Boston, was awarded the Distinguished Service Award on Oct. 28 at the nation’s largest gathering of underrepresented minority Ph.D. students and faculty.

Dr. Roosevelt Johnson, deputy associate administrator of NASA, was presented one of three national Extra Mile Awards on Oct. 28 at the nation’s largest gathering of underrepresented minority Ph.D. students and faculty.

WHAT

The nation’s largest gathering of minority Ph.D. students, graduates, and college faculty members. Led by the Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board’s Doctoral Scholars Program, the conference brings together more than 900 Ph.D. students and graduates from minorities underrepresented in higher education.

How have schools managed the massive shift of aligning classroom teaching materials to their states’ college- and career-readiness standards?
 
New reports from the Southern Regional Education Board detail how states approached the challenge and recommend strategies to focus on as the work continues.

LAC officers are Representative Baker of Alabama and Senator Millar of Georgia 

Atlanta, Georgia  — June 30, 2017 — Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana will serve a second one-year term as chair of the Southern Regional Education Board. He was re-elected at the organization’s annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sunday.

Need-based aid for low-income students should be a priority

Leaders from 16 states are calling for states to elevate affordability for students — especially those from low-income families — as the top priority of their higher education finance policies and practices.

This week, Kentucky and Pennsylvania were approved by the Southern Regional Education Board to join the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). These states bring the number of participating states to 44, plus the District of Columbia.
 

SREB Insights interactive data tool is a user-friendly new way to navigate complex education topics and inform decisions and practice. State policymakers, thought leaders and education leaders can understand and compare trends, policies and recommended actions for reaching college- and career-readiness standards.

As states pass new data laws for schools, policymakers should ensure these policies address transparency, privacy, security, collection, use and sharing. Most important, these systems should drive student learning and protect student and employee privacy. A new brief, Data Privacy and Security, from SREB’s Educational Technology Cooperative provides states with clear recommendations for education data policies. This brief is a useful overview on two education data topics — privacy and security.

West Virginia State University is the 1,000th institution to participate in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), a nationwide initiative of states and institutions that makes distance education courses more accessible to students across state lines and makes it easier for states to regulate and institutions to participate in interstate distance education while improving consumer protection.  

Atlanta, GA — Delaware, District of Columbia, North Carolina and South Carolina are now members of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement. Forty states plus DC — close to 1,000 institutions — now participate in SARA.

Atlanta, GA — This week, Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi and Texas were approved by the Southern Regional Education Board to join the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). These states bring the number of participating states to 34, with over half of the SREB states now participating in SARA.
 

In the summer of 2015, the Mississippi Department of Education trained more than 200 teachers — more than 60 in Literacy Ready and 160 in Math Ready. To support these teachers, Mississippi created an SREB Ready endorsement. The state affixes an SREB Literacy Ready or SREB Math Ready endorsement to the certifications of teachers who complete the initial training and the online follow-up training.

Atlanta, GA — The Southern Regional Education Board has added Health Informatics to the Advanced Career (AC) curricula available to all high schools.

Atlanta, GA — The Southern Regional Education Board today launched the Commission on College Affordability in the South to focus state policies on the goal of affordability for students.

Atlanta, GA — In collaboration with partner states, the Southern Regional Education Board is field testing two courses to prepare more students for college and careers when they graduate from high school. The SREB Readiness Courses are designed to prepare students to start college in credit-bearing courses instead of remedial classes. 

Melinda Gates Speaks with Teachers at Monday Keynote

Atlanta, GA — About 5,500 teachers, principals and other K-12 educators from states across the nation gather in Nashville this week at conferences hosted by the Southern Regional Education Board to help students graduate from high school ready for college and careers. All meetings take place at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.