The inaugural conference hosted by Whittier College's Institute for Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching (ICLRT) gathered 145 educators from California school districts as far north as Modesto and Santa Paula, as well as local partner districts such as Whittier Union High School District and Whittier City School District. The conference, whose theme was "Access and Academic Language for English Language Learners and Standard English Learners in the Age of the CCSS," aimed to share the latest research, guidance, and best practices for educators teaching English Language Learners in K-12.
The mission of Whittier College's ICLRT, directed by Professor Ivannia Soto Hinman, is to collaborate with relevant organizations and institutions nationally, and within California, to promote research and share academic resources in the area of linguistically and culturally responsive teaching for English Language Learners and diverse student populations.
ICLRT's all-day conference featured two key note speakers from industry leaders, Dr. Noma LeMoine and Dr. Jeff Zwiers.
LeMoine's presentation shared strategies to help educators develop new paradigms for educating underperforming students for whom standard English is not their native language. LeMoine, an expert in education for 35 years, is nationally recognized for her knowledge on issues of language and literacy acquisition and learning in African American and other Standard English Learner Populations.
Zwiers, senior researcher at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and director of professional development for the Understanding Language Initiative focused on improving teacher practices for developing oral language and conversation skills for and through the teaching of rich content focused on complex content understandings and critical thinking.
In addition to the keynote presentations, conference attendees participated in nine breakout sessions that tackled topics such as Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP), the intersection between Science and Language in the Next Generation Science Standards, Support and Intervention for High School English Learners among others.
ICLRT's inaugural conference was generously supported by the California Community Foundation and Corwin Press.
