Conference Information
Conference informational flyer
Conference agenda
Conference Speakers:
Jo Baker: Jo Baker was Associate Superintendent of Instructional Services with the Wake County Public School System from 2000-2006. Prior to that she was Assistant Superintendent of Student Services and Area Assistant Superintendent in the Wake County Schools. Earlier, she worked for the US Department of Education and for the Virginia Department of Education. Jo has been a teacher and high school principal. Throughout her career, she has worked with principals, teachers and central office staff to identify programs, curriculum and strategies that support student success and provide innovative alternatives for students. She is committed to providing a rigorous curriculum within an environment that meets the needs of all students.
Bill Carruthers: Bill Carruthers started his educational career in 1978 as a school psychologist working in a rural county in Kansas. Before this, he was a Missile Launch Control Officer in the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force. In 1980, he moved to North Carolina where he was employed as a school psychologist in the Wake County Public School System. By the early 1990s, Bill was securing grants for the school district and he was named the Senior Director for Grants Administration in 1998. Between 1998 and 2008, Bill helped WakeCounty school staff secure more than $60 million in competitive grant awards.
Bill Farmer: William (Bill) Farmer is President and CEO of The Farmer Group, a consulting firm assisting business and not for profit organizations in issues associated with public and social policy and previously served as Vice President of Corporate Development for Time Warner Cable's Corporate, Regional and Media Sales Operations in the Carolinas. Mr. Farmer currently serves on several boards, committees and commissions in North Carolina, including the Dropout Prevention Committee as Co-Chairman, Valuing Education Committee as Chairman, New Schools Project Board of Advisors, and commissioner on Workforce Development and Banking Commissions, respectively.
Ken Gattis: Ken Gattis is Senior Research & Evaluation Coordinator for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Dr. Gattis was formerly Supplemental Instruction Coordinator, then Director of the Undergraduate Tutorial Center at North Carolina State University. A former professional engineer and high school physics teacher, Dr. Gattis received his BS and Master of Industrial Engineering degrees from NC State University, his MA in Science Education from East Carolina University, and his Ph.D. in Science Education from NC State University.
Linda Harril: Linda Harrill, President/CEO of Communities In Schools North Carolina, brings a deep passion for children and youth and many years of experience as both a regular education teacher and special needs teacher at the middle and high school levels. Currently she serves as the state director of one of the North Carolina’s largest community/education partnerships. She has been a training coordinator for Adolescent Special Education Projects and an instructor at North Carolina State University where she supervised student teachers. As State Director of Communities In Schools of North Carolina for the past eighteen years, Linda oversees the replication of the CIS process across the state, works with North Carolina business leaders, establishes state-level and national partnerships to benefit to local programs, and maintains relationships with other non-profits, agencies and the legislature.
Janet Johnson: Janet Johnson is the president and founder of EDSTAR, Inc. For 15 years, Janet has been working with school systems to help them use data, evaluate programs, and identify effective practices. EDSTAR developed Data Academies to help educators write goals, use research-based practices, and use data to align services and opportunities. Janet has been a middle school math and reading teacher, and specializes in making data use easy for educators with no statistical backgrounds. She has a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education with a minor in statistics.
Senator Vernon Malone: Vernon Malone was elected to the N. C. Senate in January 2003. He represents District 14 in Wake County in Raleigh, North Carolina. As a former educator, he was superintendent for the Governor Morehead School for the Blind. He has received numerous awards and recognitions due to his devotion to education and to his commitment to improving the quality of life for the physically challenged. He is a past chairman of the Wake County Board of Education and past co-chairman of the North Carolina Public School Administrators Task Force, and a past first vice-president of the N. C. School Boards Association.
Ann McColl: Ann McColl is an attorney and serves as legal counsel for the North Carolina Association of School Administrators and the North Carolina School Superintendents Association. She is also associate professor in the Department of Education Leadership in the College of Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Ms. McColl is former legal counsel to the North Carolina School Boards Association and has served as president of the North Carolina Council of School Attorneys. She has worked with numerous other organizations, public school systems, and individual school administrators on legal issues related to public schools.
Bill McNeal: Bill McNeal became executive director of the North Carolina Association of School Administrators (NCASA) on July 1, 2006, after retiring June 30 from his post as Superintendent of the Wake County Public School System. In his current role, he leads the membership association that serves almost 7,000 public school administrators from all 115 school districts in North Carolina.
John L. Reimer: John L. Reimer, President of the North Carolina Dropout Prevention Association, has been working with at risk students and students who are on the path to disengage from school for over 25 years. His public school experiences include teaching communication arts, serving as a guidance counselor K-12, working as an assistant principal and principal, and developing programs designed to keep kids in school. He has Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, and his experiences in business and education have allowed additional post graduate studies.
Other Dropout Prevention Resources:
