Generations at Risk: The Realities and Debates of Bilingual Education

CSBSR, UC Riverside

On January 28-29, the Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences Research, part of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences of the University of California, Riverside, offered a two day seminar. The seminar was designed to inform educational professionals and policy makers as well as the general public of what the academic community knows about bilingual education. The conference also aimed at dispelling the myths advanced by the promoters of Proposition 227. The conference was titled "Generations at Risk: the Realities and Debates of Bilingual Education."

Its first day was devoted to discussing the current status of bilingual education in the public policy arena. Its theme was "Bilingual Education at the Cross Roads: Briefing for Policy Makers," and was aimed at the policy makers as well as the education professional. The second day was open to the general public and was titled "Providing Clarity to the Discourse on Bilingual Education."

I provide here the programs of both days as a service to the people fighing 227. If you desire more information, please contact the organizer, Prof. Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez, at UC Riverside (909-787-2196). For the visitor's convenience, I have obtained, whenever possible, the e-mail address of each participant.

The program for the first day was:

• Welcome by Program Moderator
  Dr. Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Director of the Ernesto Galarza Public Policy and Humanities Research Institute,University of California, Riverside.
  
• Program Objectives
  Ms. Maxine Frost, Board Member Riverside Unified School District
  
• Bilingual Education: Theoretical Foundation
  Dr. Manuel Ramirez III, Professor of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, and Clinical Professor of Psychology, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
  
• Bilingual Education: Various Methods and Practices Used by Educational Institutions and Instructors
  Ms. Shelly Elaine Spiegel-Coleman, English as a Second Language Consultant, Los Angeles County Office of Education
  
• Bilingual Education: Complexities of Governance
  Mr. Salvador "Sal" Villaseñor, Senior Legislative Advocate, California School Board Association
  
• Bilingual Education: Immediate and Imminent Affects of Polls, Elections, and Court rulings
  Ms. Sonia Carvalho, Attorney, Best, Best and Kriefer

The second day was conducted as a series of panels. The agenda was as follows:

• Welcome by Program Moderator
  Dr. Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Director of the Ernesto Galarza Public Policy and Humanities Research Institute, University of California, Riverside
  
• The Historical and Unfolding Realities of Bilingual Education
  
  • Dr. Manuel Ramirez III, Professor of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, and Clinical Professor of Psychology, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
    
  • Dr. Terrence Wiley, Professor of Education and Linguistics, California State University, Long Beach, and Invited Faculty Affiliate for the Center of Language and Minority Education and Research
    
• The Theoretical, Methodological, and Empirical Aspects of Bilingual Education
  
  • Dr. Reynaldo Macías, former Director, Linguistic Minority Research Institute and Professor, Department of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara
    
  • Dr. Eugene García, Dean and Professor, School of Education, University of California, Berkeley
    
• Bilingual Education Programs: Achieving Exemplary Status
  
  • Dr. Fred Genesee, Director, Division of Education and Professor of Education, University of California, Davis
    
  • Ms. Diana Hernandez, Project Coordinator, Los Angeles Unified School District, Language Acquisition and Bilingual Development Branch, Project M.O.R.E.
    
  • Dr. Douglas Mitchell, Director, California Educational Research Cooperative, and Professor, School of Education, University of California, Riverside
    
• Luncheon Keynote
  Mr. Henry Der, Deputy Superintendent, California Department of Education.
  
• The Public and Institutional Discourse on Bilingual Education
  
  • Dr. Raymond Buriel, Professor, Department of Psychology, Pomona College
    
  • Dr. Flora I. Ortiz, Professor, School of Education, University of California, Riverside
    
• Constructing Language Policy in California
  
  • Ms. Maribel Medina, Education Attorney, Mexican American Educational and Legal Defense Fund
    
  • Dr. Terrence Wiley, Professor of Education and Linguistics, California State University, Long Beach, and Invited Faculty Affiliate for the Center of Language and Minority Education and Research
    
  • Dr. Magaly Lavadenz, Coordinator, Bilingual/Bicultural Education and TESL/Multicultural Education, Loyola Marimount University
    
• Closing Remarks
  Dr. Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez

In addition to the CSBSR, the conference was co-sponsored by:

• Ernesto Galarza Public Policy and Humanities Research Institute, University of California, Riverside
• College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, University of California, Riverside
• Governmental and Community Relations, University of California, Riverside
• California Educational Research Cooperative, University of California, Riverside
• Chicano Student Program, University of California, Riverside
• Office of the Riverside County Superintendent
• Office of the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools