Educators throughout the United States have begun to focus attention and research on the millions of students in grades four through twelve who are unable to read and write well enough to achieve academic success. For students to be successful in high school, college, and the workplace, they must move beyond basic levels of literacy. Advanced literacy skills have to be developed within the content areas for students to acquire proficiency in math, science, language arts, and social studies. This years Developing Academic Language Conference focuses on providing teachers and administrators with solutions to problems they face in this critical area. Sessions will focus on strategies schools can use to empower students coming from various levels of understanding and background experiences with the gift of Academic Literacy.
keynote Speakers
Dr. Kathleen Kenfield is a nationally-known consultant and speaker in the field of English Learner education. She has been a university professor and a classroom teacher. Dr. Kenfield spends over one hundred days each year working with teachers and schools, helping them better meet the challenge of bringing both abundant language acquisition and accessible content to their English Learners.
Jeff Zwiers (San Antonio Conference ONLY)teaches at Stanford University, works for The New Teacher Center as a mentor in urban school settings, and trains teachers to facilitate professional learning teams that use a collaborative cycle of inquiry. He also participates in international education development that promotes student engagement, critical thinking, language acquisition, and formative assessment. He has published books and articles on reading, thinking, and academic language. His most recent book titled Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms (2008), focuses on Grades 5-12. His current action research interests focus on using conversations in the classroom to accelerate the development of content, language, and cognitive skills.
Jana Echevarria, Ph.D., (Phoenix Conference ONLY) is Professor Emerita of Education at California State University, Long Beach and is Co-Principal Investigator with the Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners (CREATE). Dr. Echevarria has taught in general education, special education, English as a Second Language and bilingual programs. She has lived in Taiwan and Mexico where she taught ESL and second language acquisition courses at the university level, as well as in Spain where she conducted research on immigrant students. Her research and publications focus on effective instruction for English learners, including those with learning disabilities. She has co-authored nine books including, Making Content Comprehensible for English Language Learners: The SIOP Model and Sheltered Content Instruction: Teaching Students With Diverse Abilities, both published by Allyn & Bacon and is an author on Macmillan McGraw-Hill’s Treasures reading (Spanish and English) and ESL programs.. In 2005, Dr. Echevarria was selected as Outstanding Professor at CSULB.Featured Session Speakers:
John Seidlitz is an independent educational consultant and developer of “TIPS for instructing ELLs” part of the LEP SSI initiative of the Texas Education Agency. As co-developer with Bill Perryman of Perspective-Based Learning,™ he works with teachers throughout the country implementing strategies that promote academic language development for all students and the use of perspective in the classroom. He served ESL, Bilingual, and Social Studies teachers for ESC Region 20 in San Antonio and South Texas as an educational specialist. He is a former social studies and ESL teacher and also served as a secondary ESL program coordinator.
Melissa Castillois currently a trainer for the SIOP® Institute as well as an independent consultant working with educators in several states across the country on academic vocabulary development, coaching, sheltered instruction techniques and building capacity. She served as an elementary teacher in a bilingual program and as a director of several English Language Learner programs at the primary and secondary levels. Her doctoral research has focused on effective instructional programs for language minority students specifically Sheltered English Immersion and Dual Language.
Marriott San Antonio Northwest Loop * June 26-27, 2009 - 8:00 AM- 3:30 PM
