We present this photo gallery to give viewers a sense of some of the activities and spirit of the 2007 REWG.  The photos represent only a small slice of the event and many activities and individuals that made important contributions to the success of REWG are not included in this gallery.

You can read more about the REWG meeting at "REWG Brings Rural Education Advocates Together." 

OPENING ACTIVITIES

REWG opens on Friday night with dinner.  Participants sat together with others from their state, or with people from nearby states.

Attendees from Vermont begin gathering for supper with friends from Maine

Several REWG participants from South Carolina enjoy supper together

Participants from Alabama and Louisiana catch up with each other before dinner. 

After dinner there were introductions of everyone-by state-who came to REWG. 

Page McCullough of the Rural Trust and Joyce Parker of the Mississippi Education Working Group explain an "introduce yourself game" that gets state groups telling about their state's recent accomplishments for rural schools and challenges that remain--all in a big hurry.

Joyce Parker gets everyone laughing during introductions and speeds up the "family feud" style process with lots of humor.  Here she introduces the group from West Virginia

Additional photos and information about some of the state groups at REWG are available here. 

Members of the South Carolina Rural Education Grassroots Committee (SCREGC) hosted the 2007 REWG and prepared a program that followed introductions.  James Holloway and LeRoy Seabrook welcomed participants to their state. 

James Holloway of SCREGC welcomed participants to South Carolina

LeRoy Seabrook continues the welcome of participants to South Carolina 

The entire South Carolina Rural Education Grassroots Committee got in on the welcoming action and entertained the group with songs whose lyrics they wrote themselves.

Soon the South Carolina hosts had everyone singing and clapping along.

The Friday evening session of REWG ended with a showing of a portion of a documentary film that described the early formation of Citizenship Schools on Johns Island, South Carolina.  The documentary highlighted the great work of Esau Jenkins, Bernice Robinson, and Septima Clark in developing the schools and their contributions to addressing civil and human rights in the U.S.  
 

Jereann King Johnson of the Rural Trust introduced the video. 

The entire REWG group shared supper on Johns Island on Saturday night.  You can read more about Johns Island here.

SATURDAY SESSIONS AT REWG

Saturday morning opened with a plenary session, "Education and the Economy" led by Marty Strange, Policy Director of the Rural Trust. 

Marty Strange presents economic data about emerging trends, a brief history of how schools have served the economic needs of the powerful, and an analysis of what the trends mean for schools, and the nation's economy, now. 

In small groups people discussed the meaning of the data and the rhetoric.  Participants talked about what schools need in order to serve all students and their communities well and how advocates can best organize for schools that are equitable and just.  Then they shared their small group discussions with everyone. 

Merle Wallace of Tennessee reports for her small group. 

Veniayetta Aikens of Louisiana describes the discussion in her small group.

You can see the power point presentation, "Education and the Economy" here.  

After lunch, representatives from the Nebraska Department of Education described the state's classroom-based assessment program, STARS (School-based Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System).  Schools are not ranked in the program and students are assessed primarily through multiple performance measures designed by classroom teachers.

Lynne Klemke, Tarina Cox, on left, and Pat Roschewski, on far right, from the Nebraska Department of Education introduce themselves.  Also pictured is Milford Smith of Odell, Nebraska, who works with the Nebraska Caolition for Educational Equity & Adequacy. 

Read more about the presentation on STARS here and see the power point presentation here. Click here for full list of REWG 2007 sessions and workshops.

DINNER AT JOHN'S ISLAND

The South Carolina Rural Education Grassroots Committee arrange for REWG participants to enjoy a homemade seafood dinner and demonstration of the Sea Island art of basket weaving at Rural Mission on Johns Island. 

You can read more about Johns Island here.

REWG participants arrive at Rural Mission on Johns Island

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The group anticipates the delicious seafood dinner about to begin.

Linda Gadson, Executive Director of Rural Mission, shares some of the history of the island and treats the group to several songs. 

After dinner at Rural Mission, Vera Manigault demonstrated the traditional Sea Island art of weaving baskets from sweet grass and other indigenous fibers.  Manigault is recognized as a master weaver.  As part of her demonstration she entertained the group with jokes and stories, interspersed with words from the Gullah language.   Gullah is a dialect that mixes several African languages and English and is unique to the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia. 

Several REWG participants enjoy the dock at the Rural Mission

SUNDAY MORNING SESSIONS

REWG activities continued on Sunday morning, including small group sessions and closing activities. 

Click here for full list of REWG 2007 sessions and workshops.

 
Jerry Johnson of Rural Trust provides a sneak preview of data in the 2007 edition of "Why Rural Matters." 

 
Mildred Conley and Robert Hall of Southern Echo lead a session "Community-Based Education Reform in the Mississippi Delta

Participants learn about lobbying legally in a small group session presented by Marty Strange (not pictured) of the Rural Trust.

REWG wrapped up Sunday morning with more singing, with state groups making plans together, and with a closing ceremony led by the South Carolina Rural Education Grassroots Committee. 

Here the group from Louisiana discusses what they have to offer other groups and what they would like to learn more about.   

LeRoy Seabrook of the South Carolina Rural Education Grassroots Committee and Amanda Adler of Rural Trust (also of South Carolina) close out the 2007 REWG with a series of awards to participants. 

Lindsey Karlson of Miner, South Dakota wins the award for the person who traveled the farthest to attend REWG.

Dick Gould of Maine won the award for the oldest participant.