VGCC Hosts Educators Symposium
Vance-Granville Community College will host an “Educators Symposium” on Thursday, March 25, starting at 6 p.m. in the Civic Center on the college’s main campus in Vance County. There is no charge for admission to the symposium, which is designed for anyone interested in pursuing a career in education.
A highlight of the symposium will be guest speaker Sheri Strickland (pictured above), the president of the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE), who will address “What It Takes To Be a Good Educator.”
Strickland, who is currently on leave from the Pitt County Schools, began a two-year term as president of NCAE on July 1, 2008. NCAE is the state’s largest education association, representing more than 65,000 active, retired and student members. An educator and NCAE member for 32 years, Strickland also serves as a member of the Governor’s Teacher Advisory Committee and on the North Carolina Teacher Academy Board of Trustees. She has served terms on both the NCAE and National Education Association (NEA) boards of directors. Strickland has worked in the Pitt County School System since 1976. She was an exceptional children’s teacher at Bethel Elementary School from 1976 to 1987. From 1987 to 1998, she worked as a resource exceptional children’s teacher at Wintergreen Elementary School. Strickland has been in her current position as preschool disabilities coordinator for the Pitt County Schools Exceptional Children’s Department since 1998. Strickland earned both a bachelor’s degree in mental retardation and a master’s degree in learning disabilities from East Carolina University.
Break-out sessions will include Dr. Shirley Arrington, executive director of the North Carolina Model Teacher Education Consortium, speaking on “Support for Becoming a Teacher,” and Dr. Abram Liles, director of classified personnel for Granville County Schools, discussing “What Employers Are Looking for in Teachers and Teacher Assistants.” There will also be sessions on the opportunities available at two universities. Dr. Ramona D. Cox, coordinator of teacher recruitment and retention for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will speak, as will recruiter Denise Robinson and early college high school liaison Carmen E. Dorsey, both from North Carolina Central University.
To pre-register, contact Jacquelin Heath , the head of the School-Age Education program at Vance-Granville, at (252) 738-3298.
