What constitutes an effective bilingual-education program? What are the components of a dual-language program? What are the advantages of knowing two languages?

Those are among the topics that will be explored during a first-ever forum on bilingualism that will take place Sept. 22 at Sweeney Convention Center. The forum, titled El Primer Sol, will feature members of the community, educators and proponents of bilingual education.

Organizers say the purpose of the forum is simple: to provide a vision of bilingualism for the Santa Fe community. Another goal is to encourage people to speak Spanish, said Georgia Roybal, a member of the advisory committee convened by the Santa Fe school district to review its bilingual programs last year.

The forum — which is free and open to the public — is part of a three-year action plan created by the committee to improve bilingual services for students in Santa Fe Public Schools.

Among the featured speakers are Gladys Martinez-Herrera, new director of bilingual education for the state Department of Education, and Eugene Garcia, professor of graduate education at the University of California at Berkeley.

Garcia will give the keynote speech, which will focus on the idea that all students can learn two languages. He also will speak about his research, which indicates bilingualism is an advantage.

Finally, he will address what bilingualism means in New Mexico.

“How can we, in a state like New Mexico, deal with issues that ensure all kids learn and do well in English, but also retain native languages?” Garcia said in a phone interview from The University of New Mexico, where he is a visiting scholar.

Garcia, a native of Colorado, also is writing two books. One is titled, Bilingualism in Schools in the United States, and the other is about Hispanic education in the country. Both his parents are native New Mexicans and Garcia’s first language is Spanish.

Walter Archuleta, the Santa Fe school district’s new bilingual-education coordinator, shares Garcia’s views.

“To me, it’s a tremendous loss when you lose the language of your (ancestors),” Archuleta said. “We need to educate the community as to the value of being bilingual and biliterate.”

Participants will have the opportunity to ask Garcia questions during the forum. Following his speech, there will be a panel of experts who will speak about visions of bilingualism for the future. Among them are Luis Quinones, director of bilingual education for the Pecos schools, and Loretta Salazar, coordinator of bilingual education at New Mexico Highlands University.

There also will be roundtable discussions on topics such as immigration, dual-language programs in Santa Fe and Albuquerque schools, and aspects of Hispanic culture.

The community forum is just one goal the advisory committee is working on this year.

Other goals include: conducting ongoing training for principals, central administrators and board members; establishing a testing team that will identify which students have bilingual needs; initiating a teacher-exchange program with Mexico; and continuing partnerships with colleges to increase the number of bilingual-endorsed teachers.

The district is on its way to meeting all the goals, Archuleta said, but testing students has been the biggest challenge. The district has until mid-October to finish testing, but with just a dozen members of the team available to travel among all 28 schools, the task is enormous, he said.

If testing isn’t complete by the deadline, the district might loose bilingual-education funds from the state for next year. The district last year provided services to some 2,900 English-language learners.

Community forum

El Primer Sol will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at Sweeney Convention Center. Breakfast and lunch are included in the program. Free child care also is available, but reservations are required. To arrange for child care, call 989-8359, ext. 103. For more information on the forum, call 986-0799.

Program

9 a.m. — Welcome by Gloria Rendon, Santa Fe Public Schools superintendent.

9:20 a.m. — Introduction and remarks by Gladys Herrera-Gurule, state Department of Education, and Walter Archuleta, Santa Fe school district.

9:25 a.m. — Keynote speech by Eugene Garcia, professor, Graduate School of Education, University of California at Berkeley.

10:15 a.m. Panel of experts will address bilingualism and the future. The panel will be moderated by Fran Tenorio, director of the Intercultural Leadership Institute at Santa Fe Community College.

Noon — Lunch and entertainment by Mariachi de Kaune.

1:30 to 3 p.m. — Roundtable discussions.

3 to 3:20 p.m. — Reports from roundtables and ideas about how to educate the community.



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