Education Commission of the States to Host Annual Meeting in Denver on July 6-8

News provided by

Jul 01, 2011, 06:31 ET

400 state policymakers and education leaders will gather to discuss early learning, K-12 and higher education issues

DENVER, July 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is hosting its annual National Forum on Education Policy in Denver, July 6-8. The theme of the meeting is, "Boosting College Completion for a New Economy." Nearly 400 state policymakers will be in attendance from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories. Colorado Governor and ECS Chair John Hickenlooper will preside over portions of the meeting.

The National Forum begins Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. with an opening reception. Thursday's agenda offers an engaging mix of plenary presentations by the nation's leading education experts along with concurrent sessions to delve deeper into important education issues. Some of the plenary speakers include Hilary Pennington of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Robert Corcoran of the GE Foundation and Dr. Temple Grandin of Colorado State University.

The annual ECS award ceremony also will take place on Thursday. Recipients this year are:

Ted Kolderie - James Bryant Conant Award
New England Secondary School Consortium - Frank Newman Award for State Innovation
Frances Ramirez-Maestas - Legislative Education Staff Network (LESN) award
ExxonMobil - ECS Corporate Award.

Friday's plenary highlights include presentations by Dr. John Medina, bestselling author of Brain Rules and Brain Rules for Baby, Dr. Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute and a panel of the nation's leading education legislators, including Colorado Senator Mike Johnston, Idaho Senator John Goedde and Florida Senator Stephen Wise.

WHAT: Education Commission of the States (ECS) National Forum on Education Policy

WHO: 400 state policymakers and education leaders from across the country. Media are invited to all public portions of the meeting.

WHEN: July 6-8, 2011

WHERE: Denver Downtown Sheraton Hotel
1550 Court Street
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 893-3333

A downloadable program is available online at www.ecs.org/NF2011.

ECS is the only nationwide, nonpartisan interstate compact devoted to education. Since 1965, ECS has helped governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve student learning at all levels. A nonprofit organization, ECS is located in Denver, Colorado.

SOURCE Education Commission of the States