Friday, October 12, 2012

Professional Development Institute

Community Models for Promoting Bilingualism in Children: Panel Discussion

Dau-shen Ju, Ph.D., Parent and Former Principal, Iowa City Chinese School, Psychologist, Iowa City VA Health Care System

Paula Jackson is in her sixth year of teaching the Spanish component of the Dual Language program at West Liberty Elementary in West Liberty, Iowa. Paula was born in Brazil and attended The American School of Sao Paulo, where her education was both in English and Portuguese. She is an advocate for learning in a bilingual setting! Paula attended Marymount College of Fordham University in Tarrytown, New York for three years and then finished off her last year to attain her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Paula enjoys enriching the lives of our future generation about being open-minded to all cultures and proud to be a dual language student!

Steve Hanson-After graduating from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, Steve pursued further studies in Rome, Italy. When he returned from Italy, Mr. Hanson started his teaching career in Council Bluffs, as a math teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School.After two years in Council Bluffs, Mr. Hanson and his family moved to Brazil where he spent fifteen years serving as a teacher, coach and administrator at three different American schools. In 1996, he and his family moved back to Iowa and spent fifteen years in Ottumwa, where he served as an associate principal, and then the principal, at Ottumwa High School. Steve began his work as the superintendent of the West Liberty Community School District in April of 2011.Mr. Hanson’s post-graduate work in education has been divided among Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Creighton University in Omaha; and Drake University in Des Moines.

Maureen Schafer is an Associate Director at the Academic Advising Center at the University of Iowa. As a parent volunteer at Wickham Elementary she coordinated the After School Spanish Program for five years.

Communication, Culture, and English Language Learners: Skills for Communicating Effectively and Respectfully

Heather Lujano will begin her session with a brief activity that allows participants to explore changing demographic and cultural awareness. Information and visuals illustrating stages of language acquisition will be expanded to include how language relates to culture and cultural values. Specific points on effective communication/working effectively with interpreters will be included as well. Heather will share some community initiatives that have been pursued in Washington to better serve the Spanish-speaking population. This involves sharing community approaches taken as well as successes and challenges faced. This information may be helpful to participants who wish to develop programs in their own communities.

Heather Lujano is the Bilingual Outreach and ELL Coordinator for the Washington Community Schools in Washington, IA. She holds a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Central College. Heather has lived extensively in Mexico and studied in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico as well as at the oldest university in the Americas (National Autonomous University of Mexico) in Mexico City. She is currently working toward her MSW at the University of Iowa while continuing to serve immigrants and English Language Learners in Washington, Iowa.

So, you’re bilingual? Assessing your proficiency and marketable competencies

Professors Priscila and Michael Piper will discuss the language proficiency requirements for such fields as professional interpretation and translation, as well as some of the unique challenges heritage speakers face in developing their CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) skills.

Professor Priscila Palomino de Piper was born and raised in Mexico City. She has lived in Iowa for the last 14 years. She has a B.A. in Communication/Linguistics; a second B.A. in Elementary Education with an ESL Endorsement; an M.A.E. in Reading and Language Arts with Bilingual Education; and a second M.A. in Spanish through UNI's UNISSIST program in Spain. Prof. Piper has over 20 years of teaching experiences in Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, and the U.S. She is currently an Associate Professor of Interpretation & Translation/Spanish at the Des Moines Area Community College, and she teaches Spanish as an adjunct instructor for the U. of Iowa's Bachelor of Social Work Program in Des Moines. Prof. Piper's research interests are Spanish for Heritage Speakers, and Ibero-American feminist literature.

Professor Michael J. Piper is Program Chair of the Interpretation and Translation (ITR) program at DMACC. Professor Piper holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish / English Linguistics from UNI, a Master of Arts degree in Spanish from UNI, a Master of Linguistics degree from El Colegio de Mexico, and the Juris Doctor degree from Drake University Law School. Professor Piper lived and worked in Mexico for over 10 years as a linguist/translator, and in the U.S. as a professional interpreter and translator for over 10 years. He is certified as a Spanish court interpreter by the Iowa Judicial Branch, as a Spanish judiciary interpreter/translator by the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translator, and as a translator of English into Spanish by the American Translators Association. Professor Piper is the Founding President of the Iowa Interpreters and Translators Association, where he was awarded the George K. Zucker Award for Excellence in Interpretation and Translation in 2009. In addition to his academic pursuits, Professor Piper is also an attorney in Des Moines, Iowa, where he maintains a general practice including, but not limited to, criminal law and immigration law.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Family Event at the Iowa City Public Library

Creative Writing-Youth Workshop

Rosario Iciar Merida Prieto, Leonardo Guevara Navarro, Paula Lamamie de Clairac Garrido

Rosario Merida is from Malaga, in the south of Spain. She has degrees in Sociology and Translation and Interpreting Studies. Before coming to the USA she spent several years teaching Spanish as a foreign language in bothSpain and abroad. Currently she is in her second year of the MFA in Spanish Creative Writing at the UI. She loves teaching as much as she loves writing and reading poetry.

Leonardo Guevara Navarro-I was born in Havana, Cuba in 1974. I grew up in a poor family that believed in the value of education as one of the highest human values. I am a writer and filmmaker. I am interested Latin American literature, including classic writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, Juan Rulfo, Lezama Lima, and Octavio Paz. I am also interested in religion and politics I'm a graduate student in the department of Spanish and Portuguese in the University of Iowa, in Iowa City.

Paula Lamamie de Clairac was born in Madrid, Spain. She graduated with a Philosophy degree from University Complutense in 2007 and with a Contemporary Dance degree from el Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza in 2009. After 3 months of training with chorographer David Zambrano in Costa Rica, she and other dancers formed Compania de Danza Internacional 50collective. She is currently in her second year in the MFA Spanish Creative Writing Program at the University of Iowa.

Families: Como criar nin@s bilingues - Raising Bicultural/Bilingual Children (Spanish)

Ana Celia Zentella, Editor of Building on Strength: Language and Literacy in Latino Families and Communities.

Ana Celia Zentella (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania), Professor Emerita in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego, is a preeminent figure in the study of U.S. Latino varieties of Spanish and English, language socialization, bilingualism, "Spanglish," and "English-only" laws. Her groundbreaking research with "transfronterizos," students who live and study in Tijuana and San Diego, challenges prevailing notions about "ideal bilinguals," and "immigrant alien" discourses. In 1997, Professor Zentella was inducted into the Hunter College Hall of Fame, and was honored for her work by the Manhattan Borough President, Ruth Messinger. Dr. Zentella lives in San Diego with her husband.

Deferred Action

Sandra Sanchez, American Friends Service Committee, Des Moines IA

Directed by Sandra Sanchez, AFSC’s Iowa Immigrant Voice Program (IVP) works with immigrants in Central Iowa to help build a sense of community so that new immigrants will be able to participate in the political processes in their communities. In collaboration with immigrant and immigrant-ally organizations, AFSC is educating and organizing for comprehensive immigration reform.