FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
	Date: July 6, 2004
	Contact: Sherry Freeland Walker
	e-Mail: swalker@ecs.org
	FAX: 303.296.8332
	ECS Web Site: www.ecs.org

		North Carolina To Be Honored for Service to Education DENVER – The state of North Carolina next week will be honored for its efforts to improve the quality of teaching in hard-to-staff urban and rural schools. The Education Commission of the States (ECS) will present state representatives with its State Innovation Award during The National Forum on Education Policy, being held July 13-16 in Orlando, Florida. This ECS award recognizes a state for excellence in a policy area related to the current ECS Chairman's Initiative. Improving teaching in disadvantaged schools has been the focus of Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner’s 2003-04 ECS chairmanship. More than 1,000 mid-career professionals have become licensed teachers since North Carolina launched its NC TEACH initiative in 2000. NC TEACH, which offers an alternative path into teaching that blends preparation, training and on-the-job support, has been particularly effective in producing qualified teachers in critical subject areas. Last year, it prepared more high school math and science teachers than any other teacher education program in the state. It also boasts an impressive retention rate: Eighty percent of the teachers it has produced are still on the job. NC TEACH was developed jointly by the state board of education and the University of North Carolina (UNC), which hosts the program at 10 of its campuses across the state. UNC also has a lead role in the NC Model Teacher Education Consortium, which has provided education, training and professional development to nearly 7,000 practicing and aspiring teachers throughout the state since 1990. The consortium grew out of a small program created to address a critical shortage of teachers in seven poor, rural school systems in the northeastern part of the state. Today, 39 school systems and 37 two-and four-year colleges and universities participate in the consortium. More than 600 state and national policymakers from around the country are expected to attend the National Forum, including governors, legislators, state heads of K-12 and higher education, state board members, business leaders and others. Sessions will focus on the major education issues facing them, including NCLB, teaching quality, early learning, finance, the quality of postsecondary education, choice and others. To see the full National Forum agenda or register for the meeting, visit the Newsroom at www.ecs.org/NationalForum2004 or contact Sherry Freeland Walker, ECS communications director, at 303.299.3626 or swalker@ecs.org. ### The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a national, nonprofit organization that helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve student learning at all levels. A nonpartisan organization, ECS was formed in 1965 and is located in Denver, Colorado.
Helping State Leaders Shape Education Policy