2009 Institute

In 2009, the Michigan Association for Bilingual Education held its Annual Institute on Bi-literacy: The Power to Connect.

Special Guests

Lou Anna K. Simon, the 20th president of Michigan State University, served as provost and vice president for academic affairs from 1993-2004, interim president in 2003 and was appointed president by the MSU Board of Trustees in January 2005. President Simon’s commitment to the land-grant tradition of applying education in many areas, particularly in economic development and globalization, has been demonstrated on a national level through her work as a member of the Council on Competitiveness and the Board of Directors for the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. Furthermore, she is a member of the following global initiatives: the American Council on Education (ACE) Commission on International Initiative and the Partnership to Cut Hunger in Africa Executive Committee.

Sergio Keck is currently the Director of Bilingual Education, Pre-Schools, Indian Education and Childhood Center Principal for the Lansing School District. Mr. Keck opened a Chinese-immersion preschool program and also established a Spanish-immersion preschool program both of which will grow through the elementary grades. Mr. Keck is a United States Delegate to China through Michigan State University and the Lansing School District for the Chinese Bridge for American Schools. In this capacity, he works to become acquainted with cultural knowledge and resources to help schools and districts develop programs to enhance understanding of the Chinese language and culture.

Keynote Speakers

Kathy Escamilla, Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder is a professor of education in the division of social, bilingual and multicultural foundations. Dr. Escamilla's research centers on educational issues related to Spanish speaking language minority students in U.S. schools. She is specifically interested in issues related to the development of bilingualism and bi-literacy in early elementary grades. Her recent research has also examined assessment practices and the impact of high stakes testing on these children. Dr. Escamilla has served two terms as the president of the National Association for Bilingual Education. She has recently been appointed as a co-editor of the Bilingual Research Journal, and has served as the chair person of the Bilingual SIG for the American Education Research Association (AERA). She has over 28 years of experience in the field of bilingual education. Her professional experiences are varied. She was a bilingual elementary teacher in Johnstown, Colorado and inner-city Los Angeles, bilingual head-start teacher, Director of Bilingual Programs for the Tucson Unified School District and a professor of bilingual education.

A distinguished voice on immigration, globalization and education (separately and in relation to each other), Dr. Suarez-Orozco has lectured around the world, including at the U.N. and the Vatican. A member of the National Academy of Education, he has been a tenured professor at Harvard and a fellow at Stanford. His book "Learning in a New Land: Immigrant Students in American Society" recently won the prestigious Stone Award for 2008, for Best Book on Education. In "Learning in the Global Era", a new anthology, he offers constructive approaches to educating a global generation of youth in a rapidly changing world. Professor Suárez-Orozco became a tenured professor of Human Development and Psychology at Harvard (in 1995) where he was appointed the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education (in 2001). In 1997 along with Carola Suárez-Orozco he co-founded the Harvard Immigration Projects and began to co-direct the largest study ever funded in the history of the National Science Foundation's Cultural Anthropology division—a study of Asian, Afro-Caribbean, and Latino immigrant youth in American society.

Featured Speakers

Dr. Naji earned his Ph.D from the Near Eastern Studies Department at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan specializing in Arabic Linguistics in 1985 and his Masters in teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language from the same university in 1983. Dr.Naji also earned a Master degree in Arabic Language and Literature from the University of Jordan in 1978 and a Bachelor degree in Arabic Language and Literature from the same university in 1973. Dr. Naji is a principal of Bridge Academy from 2003 - present. Bridge Academy is a K-8 school with around 567 students and 70 employees. In addition to his leadership of Bridge Academy, Dr.Naji is the director of the Arabic program in the GEE schools including: Bridge Academy, Frontier Academy, Riverside Academy and Central Academy. Dr.Naji also teaches Arabic at the University of Michigan. Dr.Naji has translated more than 1000 educational pages from English to Arabic. He has served on the following committees: Michigan Standards for Arabic Teacher Certification, Michigan Test for Arabic Teacher Certification, Foreign language Curriculum for U.S Summer Institutes, Revision of ACTFL Assessment Guidelines, and Revision of U of Oregon on Line Arabic Assessment.

Rebecca Freeman Field is adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Education of the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Language Education Division of Caslon Publishing and Consulting. She advises teachers and administrators in the United States and internationally on bilingual, world language, and English-medium program development, implementation, evaluation, instruction, and assessment. She is the author of Bilingual Education and Social Change (1998), Building on Community Bilingualism (2004), and co-editor (with Else Hamayan) of English Language Learners at School: A Guide for Administrators (2006). She earned a B.A. in Spanish from Western Maryland College (1982), an M.A. in TESOL from New York University (1986), and a Ph.D. in Sociolinguistics from Georgetown University (1993).

Keith Pruitt, Ed.S. has thirty years of educational experience as a teacher, school board member, publisher’s representative, educational consultant, and graduate student. Mr. Pruitt is finishing his dissertation dealing with vocabulary at Argosy University in Atlanta. Pruitt has presented at conferences across the nation, is the author of “It’s All About Words: Reading Instruction in the Classroom” as well as two audio workshops for teachers. Pruitt is the founder of Words of Wisdom Educational Consulting, Adjunct Professor at Trevecca University, author, minister and father to two daughters.

Diane Zoellmer, President, MACUL (Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning) & Instructional Technology Coordinator, Muskegon Area ISD
Diane Zoellmer is the Instructional Technology Coordinator at Muskegon Area Intermediate School District. She provides professional development for educators in the region and state, focusing on integrating technology in the classroom. Visit her blog at http://blogs.muskegonisd.org/techintegration
Diane has also served on the Board of Directors for MACUL, the Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning and is currently the President.