Northern Kentucky group studying education partnership By Joy Campbell, Messenger-Inquirer Published: Friday, August 21, 2009 12:20 AM CDT The executive committee of the Greater Owensboro Regional Alliance for Education (P-16 Council) and a group of northern Kentucky education advocates are hoping to benefit from each other's successes. The two groups met Wednesday in Owensboro to exchange ideas, and local P-16 leaders shared parts of their exchange during its quarterly meeting Thursday in Kentucky Wesleyan College's Winchester Center. "They initiated the visit," said Tracy Marksberry. "The group was interested, in particular, with the collaboration between the Regional Alliance and The Learning Community. They want to consolidate their efforts." Marksberry is the executive director for both The Learning Community and the P-16 Council. "We talked about how to make the most of our resources," she said. The local P-16 Council's co-chairpersons -- Daviess Judge-Executive Reid Haire and Cindy Fiorella, vice president of workforce development at Owensboro Community & Technical College -- also participated in the exchange. "We reported on where we were and where we are now," Fiorella said. "We talked about our initiatives for a better transition from high school to postsecondary and our articulation agreements with Western, KWC, Brescia and other institutions." Fiorella said she was impressed with the visitors' programs to celebrate educators' achievements and would like to learn more about them. "That focuses the attention of the alliance in supporting education," she said. Marksberry said she wants to follow up with the group on an early literacy initiative for volunteer reading tutors. "They've trained 200 reading coaches through that program," she said. The program, "One to One: Practicing Reading with Students," is designed to help struggling readers practice and gain confidence while giving volunteers a relevant, helping role, according to its promotional brochure. It also directs community resources to have an impact on student achievement. The visitors wanted to learn more about Owensboro's GOINTERN program started this summer through the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp., Marksberry said. "If you're building relationships with students, that will attract them to stay in the community," she said. "They want to do that." The visitors also were impressed with The Learning Community's work with Imagination Library and The Big Read, Marksberry said. Other local educators who shared ideas were Glenn Skeens, the chairman of The Learning Community, and Stacy Edds-Ellis, director of OCTC's Discover College. The northern Kentucky delegation comprised Nancy Spivey, senior vice president of workforce, education and health care solutions with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; Helen Carroll, external relations, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing, North America; Polly Page, executive director, Northern Kentucky Council of Partners (P-16 Council); Amanda Dixon, manager of Education Solutions. Joy Campbell, 691-7299, jcampbell@messenger-inquirer.com