Daviess County Public Schools is poised to become the first district to sign a contract with The Learning Community, the grass-roots, nonprofit group working to brand the Greater Owensboro area as a region that places a high value on learning for a lifetime.

"Their concept is what we should all be about -- an endorsement of learning at any level," said Superintendent Tom Shelton during a routine board of education luncheon Tuesday. "It fits us so well that we feel like as a school district we need to be a part of it."

Jana Beth Francis developed a contract for the district, and the board will be asked to approve it during the January meeting Thursday night.

Francis, the district's director of assessment, research and curriculum development, said the contract is an opportunity for the district to say to the whole community that it supports learning of all kinds.

The contract lists eight areas in which the district is supporting the lifelong learning campaign including offering employees tuition reimbursement -- a maximum of $140 per class -- and on-site training programs.

The district also is using The Learning Community logo in its marketing efforts and encouraging its employees to sign individual learning promises.

Shelton, Francis and other district administrators and staffers already are working on committees with The Learning Community.

Francis is serving as the chairwoman of group's assessment committee which is developing the process for measuring the initiative's success.

The group's executive director, Tracy McQueen Marksberry, and other Learning Community board members are making presentations encouraging businesses, civic groups and individuals to sign contracts that tell how they support learning for life.

"First of all, I'm thrilled at their action," Marksberry said about the proposed contract. "This is the first public school system we will have on board, but we do expect to have others."

The Learning Community has 11 signed contracts so far, with DCPS set to make it an even dozen, Marksberry said. The list includes large and small employers, public agencies and educational institutions.

Both Brescia and Western Kentucky universities have signed contracts, she said.

"The city school system is involved with our committee already, and we hope to get the Catholic system involved, too," Marksberry said. "We want to engage the entire community, and our school systems are very important in that."

Marksberry said the contracts serve two purposes. They provided an inventory of the kinds of learning opportunities available in the community and they help organizations to examine and often enhance their learning offerings.

"Sometimes the contracts contain things they are already doing, but some are implementing new programs," she said.

The Learning Community initiative is an outreach of The Citizens Committee on Education.

To Learn More Visit The Learning Community's Web site at http://www.golearningcommunity.com/.

-- Call Tracy McQueen Marksberry at 926-4339.