UVa-Wise Early Childhood Conference April 24



JoLynne DeMary, Virginia's superintendent of public education, and John McCutcheon, an award-winning, best-selling folk musician will be featured presenters during the 12th annual Early Childhood Conference at The University of Virginia's College at Wise on Saturday, April 24.

The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 8:30 a.m. in Fred B. Greear Gymnasium and concludes at 3 p.m.


ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Jo Lynne DeMary will discuss Virginia's Standards of Learning and the No Child Left Behind Act. DeMary has more than 35 years of experience in public education including positions in Richmond City and Fairfax and Henrico counties. She has served as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, elementary school supervisor, director of special education, and assistant superintendent for public schools in Virginia. From 1994 until 1999, she served as assistant superintendent for instruction in the state Department of Education.

The first woman to serve as state superintendent since the public school system in Virginia was created in 1870, DeMary was appointed to the position by then-Governor Jim Gilmore on June 1, 2000, after serving as acting superintendent since December 9, 1999. She was reappointed to a four-year term in 2002 by Governor Mark Warner. DeMary received her bachelor's degree in elementary education and her doctorate in educational planning and administration from The College of William and Mary and her master's degree in special education from Virginia Commonwealth University. DeMary's presentation begins at 11 a.m.

John McCutcheon has emerged as one of America's premier folk musicians. A former faculty member at UVa-Wise, McCutcheon sells out performances around the world and received five back-to-back Grammy nominations for his recordings. Not satisfied being merely an entertainer, McCutcheon teaches his audiences how to make music themselves - in groups or all alone. He weaves tales as modern fables, rich in history and universal in scope. He introduces the many instruments he uses guitar, banjo, fiddle, autoharp and hammer dulcimer and places them in their historic and ethnic framework. McCutcheon's presentation begins at 10 a.m.

Shane Templeton, Foundation Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Nevada, Reno, will also be a featured presenter. Templeton's research has focused on developmental word knowledge in elementary, middle, and high school students. His books include Children's Literacy: Contexts for Meaningful Learning and Teaching the Integrated Language Arts.  Templeton's presentation begins at 9 a.m.

In addition to the keynote presentations, all scheduled for the morning session, the afternoon portion of the conference will include mini-workshop, a fair of teacher- and child-made materials, and displays from commercial vendors.

 
Pre-registration is requested.  For more information, or to register, contact Sandra Richardson, conference coordinator, at 276-328-0187 or the Office of College Relations at 276-328-0130.