City of Hattiesburg Administrator Ladner Keynote Speaker for School of Education Spring Retreat
Mon, 03/11/2019 - 08:51am | By: David Tisdale
Dr. Greg Ladner, a longtime Mississippi educator now serving as a special assistant to Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker, emphasized the need for schools to better prepare their students for the labor market when he spoke at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) School of Education's spring retreat March 8.
Among those attending the event included members of the school's faculty and staff, school superintendents, curriculum and assessment coordinators, and directors of special education and programs for gifted and talented students.
A USM alum who in his career served as superintendent for four school districts throughout the state, Ladner was tapped by Barker in 2017 to join his team at Hattiesburg City Hall and charged with developing a strategic plan for the city and reviewing its administrative structure, among other duties.
Ladner said that it's very challenging for universities to prepare educators to go into America's classrooms and prepare students to obtain the skills employers are looking for in new hires because “corporate America is moving at the speed of light.”
“That's our biggest challenge (in U.S. teacher education programs)” Ladner said, “is getting on board and adapting to the rapid changes occurring in the private sector, and eliminating the need for such vast on-the-job training, post-graduation.”
The Pine Belt is fortunate, Ladner said, to have USM and other local higher education institutions producing talented graduates who have chosen a career in education meet the demand for classroom teachers, while other areas of the state face challenges filling these positions. He also expressed his and Barker's appreciation for the support of education by local members of the state Legislature.
Dr. Sandra Nichols, director of the USM School of Education, said the purpose of the retreat, held in fall and spring semesters, is to allow members of the school's faculty and state educators in grades PK-12 to meet and share information, including about areas of strength and concern in teacher education, and work collaboratively to help USM teacher education graduates be ready to prepare their students for college and careers.
The USM School of Education is housed in the university's College of Education and Human Sciences. For information about the college and school, visit https://www.usm.edu/education-human-sciences.