Edvance Research to Provide Keynote at Public School Choice Conference

Business Wire, Dec 4, 2007

SAN ANTONIO -- Kristin Mitchell, Vice President of Emerging Practices at Edvance Research, will provide a keynote address at the Public School Choice Conference on Thursday, December 6th in Columbia, South Carolina. The forum is being hosted by the South Carolina Department of Education.

The conference is targeted to educational professionals and workshop session highlights include:

* Specific strategies, by grade level, on how to implement Public School Choice in South Carolina's elementary, middle and high schools

* Proven strategies to increase parental participation

* Funding suggestions from state and regional practitioners

Due to her extensive experience helping educators identify process and quality improvement practices, Mitchell is routinely approached by national organizations, such as the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII), to provide leadership and guidance for developing project frameworks and improvement tools.

Mitchell was instrumental in creating an innovation guidebook series for OII and was the technical lead for three of those publications: Creating Strong District School Choice Programs; Creating Successful Magnet Schools Programs; and Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification.

Following her success with the guides and the choice symposium, Mitchell collaborated with OII to create www.BuildingChoice.org, an interactive online toolkit that provides practical information to districts for implementing and expanding their public school choice offerings, with the aim of improving student achievement.

Founded in 2005, Edvance Research, Inc. is a research enterprise with a mission to be a leader in the advancement of rigorous research, specializing in the education arena. The company is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. www.edvanceresearch.com