Lewis Center Hosts First National Conference
By Cheryl Thompson
The Lewis Center for Educational Research is hosting the National Association of Laboratory Schools (NALS) 2004 Annual Conference March 10-12, 2004. The conference theme will be "Lab Schools: Extracting and Assaying Best Practices." The Lewis Center's K-12 public charter school, the Academy for Academic Excellence, is one of only two public charter schools in the nation to be a member of the National Association of Laboratory Schools.
The National Association of Laboratory Schools began in the 1970s with the mission to provide "leadership in the improvement of education through the development of innovative ideas in research, curriculum development, clinical experiences, and in-service training in an experimental environment."
Quite a number of Lewis Center educators will be presenting in the sessions along with other educators from across the nation, Puerto Rico and Canada for a total of 55 concurrent sessions. Sessions will be held at the Desert Mountain education center or SELPA, as it is called, at its location near Highway 18 and Apple Valley Road. Participants will also visit the Lewis Center with outdoor sessions involving the Mojave River Wildlands, to be presented by Matthew Huffine, Science Coordinator, and Meg Deppe, Elementary Science Coordinator.
Participants from all across the nation, including Puerto Rico and Canada, will be arriving in Apple Valley on Tuesday, March 9th to attend three days of informative sessions that focus on educational "best practices." Participants will be given the opportunity to tour selected sites in Southern California on one of the three days or have the option of additional sessions and panel discussions.
A special one-day registration that highlights charter schools will be available for Friday, March 12th. Many Southern California educators will be attending the conference on that day. Staff from the newly formed CCSA (California Charter Schools Association, President Caprice Young and Director of Communications Gary Larson, will be presenting at panel discussions.
NALS sponsors a school in the Dominican Republic that is lacking in even the barest of educational necessities such as paper and pencils. The Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce is requesting donations from local businesses to send to this sponsored school. If you are interested in donating supplies for a classroom, please contact Janice Moore at the Chamber number 242-2753. A representative basket will be on display at the Wednesday evening reception on the 10th.
Lewis Center President/CEO Rick Piercy said, "This is the first national conference that Apple Valley has hosted. Apple Valley is well able to host a conference of this importance. I am hopeful that other organizations will consider holding their conference in our great town as it showcases the area and is good business. We are grateful to the Apple Valley Chamber for graciously offering their support and services."
If you are an educator and are interested in attending the conference or would like more information, visit our website at http://www.lewiscenter.org and click on the NALS Conference 2004 located on the right side of the screen. Or you may visit the NALS website at http://www.nals.net. For further information call 760-946-5414 ext 201 and speak with Teresa.
Used with permission by the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce, 2004