The Daily News - By Bill Dries -

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is in Memphis Wednesday, June 15, for two stops key to his new administration’s education reform efforts.

Haslam will speak at noon on the first day of the two-day Martin Institute Summer Conference at Presbyterian Day School.

More than 500 educators from area public and private schools are attending the conference by the institute as well as the University of Memphis College of Education.

The eight sessions each feature 20 to 25 workshops and the teachers and school administrators can earn professional development credit for participating.

Later in the day, scientist, teacher and television personality Bill Nye will be the keynote speaker at a 4 p.m. session of the conference.

Later in the day, Haslam will be at Freedom Preparatory Academy in southwest Memphis at 2 to sign the bill lifting the state’s cap on the creation of charter schools.

The legislation was passed by the Tennessee Legislature about a year after the state had raised the cap to permit a maximum of 90 charter schools.

The Memphis City Schools system has more charter schools than any other school district in the state, and Freedom Prep is one of those schools.

The Shelby County Schools board recently approved the creation of that school system’s first charter school, but only after initially rejecting the application and then being ordered to approve the application by state education officials.