Two education conferences at CSC this month

The sixth annual Native American Symposium will be Wednesday, Oct. 13, and the second annual Western Nebraska Excellence in Education Conference will be Thursday, Oct. 14. Both conferences will be at the CSC Student Center.

The registration deadline for the Excellence in Education Conference is Thursday, Oct. 7. About 150 school teachers, counselors, administrators and college students attended last year’s conference. This year’s theme is “Building Positive School Cultures for All Students.”

The keynote speaker will be Dr. John Maag, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor who specializes in education and treatment of children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Other sessions will include discussions on academic success for students of diversity, block scheduling for secondary students, the dos and don’ts for first-year teachers, science-based reading research, teaching middle and high school students with low reading ability and differentiated learning.

Dr. Doug Christensen, Nebraska commissioner of education, will speak at both conferences. The registration deadline for the Native American Symposium was Sept. 27. About 125 people have registered for the event, which is primarily sponsored by the Nebraska Department of Education.

The symposium will focus on effective educational programs and research as well as culturally appropriate instructional strategies and community health issues. It also was offered at Wayne State College in September.

The keynote speaker at the Native American Symposium will be Jerome Kills Small, an Oglala Lakota from Porcupine, S.D. He holds a master’s degree from the University of South Dakota and has lectured widely on the Dakota and Lakota traditions.

More information about the Excellence in Education Conference may be found on the Web at www.csc.edu/eie. The Native American Symposium’s Web site is www.nde.state.ne.us/nativeamer.