COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 5

January 11, 2007

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Billy K. Cannaday, Jr. Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	Virginia Educational Facility Planners Conference February 26-27, 2007

The Virginia Educational Facility Planners (VEFP) conference will be held at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center in Roanoke, Virginia, on February 26 and February 27, 2007. This will be a two-day interactive workshop on facilities and planning. Attached is a brochure describing the conference that the Department of Education is co-sponsoring with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI & SU) Division of Continuing Education.

The conference will include an exhibit of recently completed school projects, as well as school construction projects in progress in Virginia. A jury will judge the completed projects and plaques will be presented to the architects and winning schools in four categories.

The registration fee includes lunch, reception, and a dinner banquet on Monday, continental breakfast and lunch on Tuesday. If you wish to stay at the hotel on Monday night, the conference rate is $103.00 (single) or $123.00 (double), plus tax.

This years keynote speaker is Dr. Stephen R. Kellert, Tweedy Ordway Professor of Ecology from Yale University. His presentation will suggest that true and lasting sustainability in the built environment requires both a low environmental impact design that avoids and mitigates adverse impacts on natural systems, as well as a positive environmental impact or biophilic design strategy that enhances human health and well being. He will also discuss the benefits and means for achieving a more cost effective restorative environmental design approach that is tied to human evolution and biology.

The keynote address will be followed by sixteen sessions covering different subjects. The conference will provide attendees with a variety of topics that cover various aspects of educational facility design and maintenance. I hope that you or someone from your staff will attend this conference and contribute your experiences to the forum. There also will be an election of new officers for the coming year in which we hope you will participate.

Please register directly with VPI & SU for the conference and/or lodging using the form in the attached brochure. For answers to questions regarding the program, please call Vijay Ramnarain, Office of Support Services, at (804) 225-2035.

JLD:aam

Attachment

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2007/inf005a.pdf