Williamson Named To Newly Created Regional Education Advisory Committee

Washington, D.C. (2011-05-20) The U.S. Department of Education has established Regional Advisory Committees to collect information on the educational needs across the country. Locally, Dr. Nancy Williamson has been named to the region representing Tennessee.

Dr. Nancy Williamson, Chairperson of the Oneida Special School District Board of Education and President of the Tennessee School Boards Association, has been named to one of ten Regional Advisory Committee recently established by the U.S. Department of Education. These committees will collect information from local and state stakeholders and share that information with the department. Members will solicit information from state and local educators, school officials, business leaders, state education agencies, parents, the community and others. Together, the committees will compile the information to create a report that will outline educational needs across the various regions and recommend ways to effectively address those needs.

The committees’ information will be shared with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan no later than August 1, 2011. The committees also will assist the Department in establishing priorities for the upcoming Comprehensive Centers Program grant competition in 2012. The Comprehensive Centers provide technical assistance designed to help build the capacity of states to support their districts and schools in increasing student achievement.

Dr. Williamson was appointed to the Appalachia Region which represents the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Other persons named to the committee were: Dee Hopkins, Dean, College of Human Resources and Education, West Virginia University; Terry Lashley, Executive Director - SouthEast Educational, Inc.; Bobbi Lussier, Assistant Commissioner, Division of School Readiness, Tennessee Department of Education; Lana Mullins, Director of Special Education and Preschool, Trigg County Public Schools; Carol Muniz, Teacher, Morgantown High School, Morgantown, WV; Kathleen Smith, Director, Office of School Improvement – Virginia Department of Education; and LaTonya Waller, Teacher, Lucille Brown Middle School, Richmond, VA.