16 February 2006

Chair of Virginia Board of Social Services to speak at Longwood

Julie Christopher, chair of the Virginia Board of Social Services, will speak Thursday, March 2, at 7 p.m. in Longwood University’s Orr Auditorium (Hull 132) on Ready, Set, Go! The Untapped Potential of Early Childhood Development.

The program is part of the Sankofa Lecture Series in the College of Education and Human Services (CEHS). The series, a forum to discuss diverse ideas in education today, was established by Dr. Deneese Jones, dean of CEHS. The first speaker in the series was Dr. Jo Lynne DeMary, then Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction, last October.

Christopher’s address will examine issues related to the fact that between 20 and 35 percent of children entering school are not ready to learn and are unlikely to achieve the educational levels needed to succeed in the future.

Christopher, of Richmond, was appointed to the Virginia Board of Social Services by then-Governor Mark Warner in 2002 and has been chair since 2004. Last spring she was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Early Childhood Development. She is a former president of Prevent Child Abuse Virginia and has been a certified Court Appointed Special Advocate in Henrico County’s Court Appointed Special Advocates program.