West Virginia high school guidance counselors, principals, teachers and other educators are encouraged to register for the first-everSetting the Standard for Excellence: A WVU Educational SummitWednesday, March 23, at the Charleston Embassy Suites.

Making sure high school students are well prepared for college entrance exams and course work as well as the application and scholarship process will be the focus of the day-long series of professional development workshops sponsored by West Virginia University.

Topics include the importance of setting the groundwork for college success and opportunity; information on the new writing component of the SAT and optional writing component for the ACT ; ways to improve math and science skills; and an update on the requirements and deadlines for the states PROMISE Scholarship.

Cost of the summit is being underwritten by WVU . Reservations are limited and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. To register online, educators should go to:http://www.wvu.edu/and click on the educational summit site. For further information, call Sue Davis at 304-293-3837.

The day will get under way with a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m., followed by a 9 a.m. presentation by Bruce Lindvall, Chief Educational Manager, Higher Educational Services, Midwestern Regional Office of the College Board, onThe New SAT and Writing: Preparing for College Success.Before joining the College Board in 2000, Dr. Lindvall spent 15 years as director of admissions at the University of Kansas and then as associate dean of the University of Kansas Edwards Campus, a graduate education center in the Kansas City area.

Laura Brady, director of WVU s Center for Writing Excellence, will speak at 10 a.m. onWriting, Testing and the Complexities of Student Learning.Brady recently received the CASE Professor of the Year award for West Virginia, and knows the importance of using writing in everyday life, whether its on an exam, writing a resume or working up a class assignment. She teaches undergraduate courses in composition and business writing, and graduate courses in rhetoric and pedagogy.

WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. will give the keynote luncheon address, followed by a 1 p.m. session on the PROMISE Scholarship given by Executive Director Lisa DeFrank-Cole.

Director of WVU s Institute for Mathematics Learning, Robert Mayes, will follow with a 2 p.m. session,Standardized Math Assessments: So Whats a 23 Mean?

Dr. Mayes specializes in the use of technology and mathematical modeling in the teaching and learning of mathematics.

WVU Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Gerald Lang will serve as forum moderator.

The summit will conclude with a 4 p.m. wrap-up session and reception.