The following is excerpted from Dean David Hough’s State of the College Address, 2001

“You are sitting in the midst of what partly is but wholly hopes to be – a true University laboratory school. When President Keiser called me into his office on March 12^th, I assumed he was inviting me to his birthday party. Instead, he handed me a letter that instructed the COE to examine Greenwood to determine the degree to which it was meeting its mission as articulated on page 25 of Countdown to the Missouri State Centennial. I immediately summonsed the GLS director, the chair of the GLS advisory committee, the chair of the PEC, and the COE administrative team. Together we devised a plan and presented it to President Keiser’s Administrative Council and later upon approval by the Board of Governors proceeded to implement that plan.”

“While this work is on going, the evaluation team is convinced that Greenwood has enough potential to merit the effort necessary to create a genuine laboratory school environment. And we believe that such an environment would be beneficial to children. Therefore, I have established a GLS Parent Advisory Committee and a GLS Faculty Advisory Committee. These groups, along with many other stakeholders, will be engaged in many discussions relative to the nurture of a bona fide laboratory setting. Personally, I believe we can all strive toward a more innovative, research-based approach to teaching and learning that brings the entire community together.”

“The eMINTS classrooms are just one such example. Not only will GLS teachers receive 100+ hours of professional development, not only will 3^rd and 4^th grade students receive the most current curriculum and instruction, but pre-service teachers, graduate students, and career teachers and administrators throughout Southwest Missouri will benefit by this innovative approach.”

“The Greenwood administration is engaged in an effort to determine the feasibility of filling the school next summer with students from throughout the University’s 24-county service area. Next summer, I fully expect to see the laboratory school hosting a variety of enrichment activities and summer programs to benefit southwest Missouri school children. I will be calling upon individual faculty throughout the Professional Education Unit to consider Greenwood as one of several groups for quasi-experimental studies of teaching and learning theory. Ample opportunities exist for multiple cohort factorial designs that examine the effects of programs on children of varying backgrounds and school types. In short, the University community needs to be compelled to embrace Greenwood as a laboratory school, and the College of Education stands poised to facilitate the process.”