CANTON -- New York State Regent Beverly Ouderkirk, Morristown, told 121 professional educators and students at the 24th Constructivist Conference at St. Lawrence University Monday that the Board of Regents is listening to constituent concerns and changing the direction of education in response to what they are hearing.

The conference, sponsored by the Institute for Learning Centered education, brings together educators and students from throughout St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties to work on the design of tasks that will actively engage their students and motivate them to want to learn.

District Director Tom Burns also offered some welcoming comments and he reiterated the tone set by Regent Ouderkirk that educators, parents and other taxpayers are having more of a say in how education is provided to students. This was well received by the participants who have been feeling the effects of too many initiatives with too little time to adjust to them in recent years.

Institute Board chair person Tom O’Bryan commended Dr. Burns and Regent Ouderkirk for their efforts on behalf of North Country educators and Institute founder Don Mesibov added, “It’s amazing to see the enormous impact Regent Ouderkirk has had on education in New York State in less than sixteen months on the job. She has become an influential member of the highest educational board in the state and she has used her influence to encourage the board to listen more to the teachers and administrators in the trenches and to dictate less.”

The annual conference is unique due to its focus on offering educators and students working time throughout most of the week with only one hour of presentations each day. The conference ends at 1 p.m. Friday.