FMU Center of Excellence to hold Summer Institute

FLORENCE — The Center of Excellence to Prepare Teachers of Children of Poverty at Francis Marion University will have its summer institute June 29 featuring Marsha Greenfeld, senior program facilitator for Johns Hopkins University’s National network of Partnership Schools, and James C. Ellerbe, principal of Spring Lake Middle School in Fayetteville, N.C.

The COE Summer Institute is an event designed to provide participants with practical, research-based information focusing on the needs and abilities of children of poverty. The program includes two keynote addresses and more than 30 breakout sessions.

The all-day event will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Chapman Auditorium in McNair Science Building. The theme is “How 2: Classroom Strategies that Work!”

Greenfeld holds a master’s degree in education and mainly assists schools and districts located in the eastern region of the country. She worked the Baltimore City Public School System as a classroom teacher and a district facilitator for School Family Community Partnerships. As a district facilitator, Greenfeld assisted Action Teams for Partnerships to build partnership programs linked to school improvement plans. She also worked as a partnership coordinator for Communities In Schools National and in the Technical Assistance Branch of the Office of Federal Grants Programs in Washington, D.C.

Greenfeld will discuss what is known about how to make schools and classrooms more family-friendly and how to create a school atmosphere that welcomes all families.

Ellerbe has been an educator for 16 years and is pursuing a Doctor of Education at North Carolina State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in middle grades education with a major in math and minor in English and a master’s degree in school administration from Fayetteville State University. A native of Marion, Ellerbe has successfully worked in both high-poverty and affluent school districts and has earned a reputation as a Turn-Around Schools leader.

While principal of Spring Lake Middle School in Fayetteville, N.C., a high-poverty school that was academically and socially challenged, Ellerbe has seen the school transform into one which meets “high growth” standards, and is a model for North Carolina Turnaround Schools Program.

Ellerbe, through his keynote address, “How to Have a Great Classroom,” will be facilitating a discussion on using Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) with an emphasis on the 3 R’s — Relationships, Relevance, and Rigor to create a safe, orderly, academically sound and positive emotional environment.

Greenfeld will address the group from 10:55 to 11:55 a.m. while Ellerbe will speak from 3 to 4 p.m.

Admission is free for Partner District Educators and all university and college students. There is a $10 registration fee for the public.

To register with the Center of Excellence, call (843_ 669-3391, ext.28, or e-mail the Center at . Seating is limited and reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

S.C. Department of Social Service credit is awarded for Early Childhood Education sessions. Professional Development Recertification hours will be awarded to all participants.

The FMU School of Education was awarded a five-year grant that established on campus the Center of Excellence. The grant includes a component that supports staff development and in-service training for teachers in the Pee Dee. Visit the center’s Web site at http://www.fmucenterofexcellence.org for more information.