Find your way to San Jose in April: Celebrating Opportunities is coming

Effective responses to the challenges faced by students most affected by the academic achievement gap are on the agenda for this year’s Celebrating Opportunities conference, to be hosted by CSBA at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose April 25-27.

The annual conference focuses on the governance role of school boards in supporting and implementing programs, setting direction and establishing policies. Now in its 17th year, the conference will highlight programs, projects and strategies that have proven successful with Hispanic student populations and other student subgroups.

Workshop sessions
A variety of presenters from school districts and county offices of education in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas will lead workshop sessions. A sampling of topics includes:

• Project ALPHA: Coaching teachers to raise math achievement among Hispanic students
• Latino educational attainment: A local community alliance addresses what every parent wants to know
• Construction management and premier pre-apprenticeship programs
• Accountability that transforms the system: From students to school boards, making assessment data meaningful
• Multiple pathways to success: Data-driven approaches to high school reform

General session speakers
The conference also includes keynote speakers bringing their expertise to bear on specific issues. Scheduled speakers this year include:

• Glenn Singleton, founder of Pacific Education Group, who will discuss strategies for promoting equity across diverse student populations
• Reporter Sonia Nazario, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times series, “Enrique’s Journey,” chronicled a Honduran boy’s grueling journey to rejoin his mother in the United States after an 11-year separation
• Author Rose Castillo Guilbault, who recounted her experiences in her memoir, “Farmworker’s Daughter: Growing Up Mexican in America”

Critical issues
Critical issues sessions are another element of the three-day conference. Jay Westover, an administrator at the Riverside County Office of Education, will discuss his experience with professional learning communities and what it takes to plan, implement and sustain them at local, regional and state levels. Diane August, a former public school teacher who is now a research scientist with the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C., will discuss the development of literacy in second-language learners.

Celebrating Opportunities is co-sponsored by CSBA and the Texas, New Mexico and Arizona school boards associations. Nearly 375 school board members and other local education leaders attended last year’s conference in Albuquerque, N.M.

Conference registration costs $325 until April 18, when it rises to $335.

Related link:
For conference registration, visit CSBA’s Web site @ www.csba.org or call 800-266-3382, ext. 3275. Find out more about the conference @ www.csba.org/TrainingAndEvents/Events/2007/CelebratingOpps.aspx