BARTOW, FL (June 15, 2000) -- Polk County business leader Hunt Berryman will discuss a pair of programs established by the Polk County business community to improve the quality of education in the county -- Polk Businesses for World Class Education and the SchoolMatch Audit of Educational Effectiveness -- as guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Central Florida Development Council (CFDC) on Thursday, June 22. "The recently-published Boyle Report pointed out some serious deficiencies in Polk County education and called for more involvement by the business community in overcoming these problems. The programs Hunt Berryman will discuss at our June meeting do an excellent job of addressing these problems. We invite everyone who is interested in improving the quality of education in Polk County to attend the meeting so they can become more familiar with and hopefully lend their support to these very important initiatives," said Bill McDermott, president and CEO of the CFDC. Berryman, president and founder of Sunco Carriers, Inc., a Lakeland-based regional trucking company, is strongly committed to improving education in Polk County. In addition to chairing Polk County Businesses for World Class Education, he is board chairman of the Polk County's newly formed Leadership Learning Academy and an active member of the Kathleen High School Advisory Council, the Polk County School District's Strategic Planning Committee, the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce's Education Committee and the Polk Economic Education Council. In his talk at the CFDC's June meeting, Berryman will discuss the goals, objectives and accomplishments of Polk Businesses for World Class Education, an advocacy group for quality education comprised of Polk County business leaders. He also will provide in-depth information on a School Match Audit of Educational Effectiveness for all Polk County public schools currently being conducted by SchoolMatch of Columbus,Ohio. The Audit is under the joint sponsorship of Polk Businesses for World Class Education and the CFDC. "Polk Businesses for World Class Education is pleased to be joining forces with the CFDC to work for the improvement of Polk County schools. There is nothing more important for the success of our businesses and the future of our communities than the education of our children, Berryman said. Long involved in community affairs, Berryman has served as president of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Polk County, the Learning Resource Center of Polk County, Inc. and the Citrus Center Kiwanis. He also has served on the boards of the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce and the CFDC. Over the years, he has received numerous awards for his community service, including the Lakeland chamber's George Jenkins award, Leadership Lakeland's Jere Annis award and the Hollis award presented by Florida Baptist Family Ministries. The process known as the SchoolMatch Audit of Educational Effectiveness was initiated by our Advisory Board Chairman, Dr. M. Donald Thomas, while he served as principal education advisor to Governors including Richard Riley of South Carolina and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. We believe the Audit process plays a major role in interpreting assessment measures to policy makers, staff, parents and citizens. The Audit has become an important nationally respected tool for engaging in meaningful school reform by creating benchmarks similar to those which exist in businesses and other effective organizations. The web page http://schoolmatch.com/ppsi/smaudit.cfm may be helpful if you have an interest in exploring the process. In addition, we have a free videotape available by calling us at 614/890-1573. It highlights news interest, community reaction and appreciation. We have successfully completed audits in over 800 public school systems across the country, developing a model whereby leading foundations, businesses, newspapers and financial institutions -- individually and in collaboration -- sponsor an effectiveness review of their community's schools. We offer a simple and understandable approach to the evaluation of school results. Using data to make appropriate instructional decisions is the basis of the improvement effort. Community leaders embrace the process for its clarity. School officials appreciate its fairness. Students benefit from the clear blueprint for schools to follow in improving the effectiveness of the education program. Please let SchoolMatch associates know if you have questions or would like to share any observations.
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