Coastal Carolina University is hosting the first-ever Civic Learning Conference, designed to share information on service learning, community service and civic engagement initiatives between higher education institutions and K-12 schools, on Friday, May 11 on campus.

"Making a difference in K-12 Education for our Future: Decreasing the dropout rate and improving student success" is open to educators across the state. May 4 is the registration deadline, but participants may also register the day of the conference.

Franklin P. Schargel, an internationally recognized education expert, will be the keynote speaker and will discuss "Helping Students Graduate: Strategies and Tools to Prevent School Dropouts." He is the author of several books on education reform, including "Helping Students Graduate" and "Best Practices to Help At-Risk Learners"

Sessions will be held throughout the day in the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration.

Presentations and workshops will feature programs, projects, research and best practices that deal with decreasing the dropout rate and improving student success of K-12 students. Special sessions will highlight Coastal faculty who have incorporated mentoring within their courses over the past two years.

For more information on the conference, which is sponsored by Coastal's Center for Education and Development, visit the Web site at www.coastal/cec or call Emma Savage Davis at 349-2673.