FAU Holds Inaugural Student Advocacy for Action
From left to right, Katie Miller, Kevin McCormick, Kaley Robinson, Krysta White, Antoine Hickman, Laurie Gaylord, State Sen. Kevin Rader, and Lisa Finnegan.
Florida Atlantic University student club organizers in collaboration with
FAU’s Department of Exceptional Student Education (ESE)
hosted Advocacy for Action to Support Education at the Boca Raton campus. The event, set up by the Student Council for Exceptional Children, College of Education Student Advisory Council, Kappa Delta Phi and National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, assisted students in building their educational policy knowledge base and focused on developing their advocacy skills.
Corey King, Ed.D., vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, offered words of support for students regarding the advocacy process followed by a panel discussion on the importance of advocacy for educators. State Sen. Kevin Rader; Laurie Gaylord, Martin County superintendent; Antoine Hickman, Broward County director of exceptional student learning support; and Kevin McCormick, Palm Beach County director of exceptional student education, comprised the panel who fielded questions posed by Charles Dukes, Ed.D, ESE. In addition to the panel discussion, Rader spoke to his role as a state senator and methodologies for effective advocacy in Tallahassee. Gaylord, Hickman and McCormick described best practices for advocating on behalf of students across the school district level.
“I’m thrilled to see so many students interested in becoming involved in advocacy, especially during this political climate,” said
Valerie J. Bristor, Ph.D., dean of the College of Education. “I encourage all of our future teachers to get involved in the process, as advocacy is such an important part of our profession.”
Two instructional sessions followed the panel discussion. Professor Cynthia Wilson, Ph.D., led a discussion on tips for meeting with legislators while Ryan Britton, executive director of Governmental Relations at FAU, focused on state level issues and advocacy.
For more information, contact Katie Miller, Ph.D. at millerk@fau.edu.
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