December 3, 2015
Council for Public School Improvement program receives national award
The University Professional and Continuing Education Association's Central Region presented the Council for Public School Improvement with the association's 2015 Central Region Mature Noncredit Program Award at its meeting recent meeting in Madison, Wisconsin.
The council, which is housed in the College of Education, was selected based on six stringent criteria: cost effectiveness, longevity, innovation, diversity, quality, and contribution to adult/continuing education.
Bob Shannon, Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 superintendent, said the Council for Public School Improvement model is a great success.
"The Council for Public School Improvement is a K-12 and higher education collaboration model that has provided professional development for educators in this region for many years," Shannon said. "It is efficient in its use of members' fiscal resources and timely in the topics provided to participants. The College of Education at Kansas State University has provided much-appreciated faculty expertise, time and facility resources to facilitate the quality and delivery of programs."
John Bergkamp, Valley Heights superintendent and council board member, said teachers and students are the beneficiaries of its programming.
"Educators are able to learn from the best of the best in the field and are able to return to their classrooms with strategies and tools they can implement immediately," Bergkamp said. "With limited budgets and the challenge of sending educators to far off locations for important staff development opportunities, the Council for Public School Improvement has afforded Kansas districts the chance to gain relevant and research-based professional development on a continuous basis."
The Council for Public School Improvement program was founded in 1986 as a partnership program between the K-State College of Education and school districts in Kansas. Program objectives include fostering improvement at all levels of public education and developing and implementing collaborative networks and professional development opportunities within school districts and the university.