Pascagoula School District Brings Home National Renaissance(R) Conference Award for 'Outstanding Student Achievement'
March 24 2004 - 4:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Pascagoula School District Brings Home National Renaissance(R)
Conference Award for 'Outstanding Student Achievement' MADISON,
Wis., March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognized for their "outstanding
student achievement," Pascagoula School District in Pascagoula,
Miss., was awarded the Renaissance Solutions Award at the fifth
annual National Renaissance Conference. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001108/RENAISSANCELOGO ) The
National Renaissance Conference, which was held March 16-19 in
Orlando, Fla., is hosted once a year by Renaissance Learning(R),
Inc., a leading provider of learning information systems and school
improvement programs for pre-K-12 schools. Pascagoula students in
grades K-8 were recently challenged to read half a million books.
Librarians reported record numbers of books in circulation as
students flocked to computers to take Accelerated Reader(R)
quizzes. Signs gauging progress were placed throughout each city so
residents could watch the steady rise in the number of books read.
In May, a "Read-N-Ride" rally was held at the high school stadium
to celebrate students' reading efforts. More than 10,000 people,
including the Governor, the state superintendent of education, and
officials from the U.S. Department of Education. The end of the
school year, however, did not signal the end of reading. The
district's "Storyland Express," a bus renovated into a bookmobile,
took reading to a new level by parking at area grocery stores
throughout the summer. While parents shopped, students read books
and took Accelerated Reader quizzes. According to district
officials, not only has this process instilled a love of reading in
the students, but rising test scores also attest to its success.
This year's National Renaissance Conference was attended by about
3,000 educators from across the country who gathered to network
with others dedicated to educating our nation's children, receive
professional development training, hear motivational speakers, and
view RenaissanceLearning's newest products and services. Taking
center stage this year were demonstrations of Renaissance Place(R),
the Company's enterprise wide suite of products which offers
centralized data and web-based consolidated school- and
district-wide reporting, and English in a Flash(TM), a
revolutionary new research-based product to help teachers address
the needs of ELL (English language learners) and ESL (English as a
second language) students. The 2004 National Renaissance Conference
was also highlighted by keynote presentations by Wally Amos,
founder of Famous Amos cookies and nationally recognized literacy
advocate, Mary Pope Osborne, author of the Magic Tree House
children's series, and Jim Trelease, motivational speaker and
author of The Read-Aloud Handbook. Attendees were treated to the
opportunity to meet many famous authors and attend several of the
more than 100 professional development workshops offered on a
variety of subjects -- from the latest teaching techniques and
research to funding opportunities, technology briefings, and
detailed discussions of Renaissance products. The 2005 National
Renaissance Conference will be held March 3-6 in San Antonio,
Texas. Renaissance Learning(R), Inc., is a leading provider of
research-based learning information systems software, school
improvement programs, teacher training and consulting. Adopted by
over 65,000 schools, Renaissance information technology products
give students and teachers continuous constructive feedback that
helps motivate students, dramatically accelerate learning, improve
test scores, and help students master all standards, while reducing
teacher paperwork. Over 500,000 educators have received Renaissance
training. Renaissance Learning has six U.S. locations and
subsidiaries in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001108/RENAISSANCELOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Renaissance Learning, Inc.
CONTACT: Jonas Berberich of Renaissance Learning, Inc., Toll free
office, +1-800-200-4848, Fax, +1-608-664-3888, Web site:
http://www.renlearn.com/
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