National Institute on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

Conference will offer ideas for bilingual education, cross-cultural studies

Prominent researchers and leaders in bilingual education and cross-cultural studies will gather with some 400 educators from around the country to share ideas and projects at a conference Nov. 19-21 sponsored by the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- How can schoolteachers expand beyond their training for the classroom to become education researchers in their own right? Prominent researchers and leaders in bilingual education and cross-cultural studies will gather with some 400 educators from around the country to share ideas and projects at a conference Nov. 19-21 sponsored by the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University (LAB), a program of The Education Alliance.

More than 30 projects that have used teacher-based inquiry to learn more about classroom issues, particularly the education of linguistically and culturally diverse students, will be showcased to more than 400 educators from New England and California, West Virginia, Hawaii, Arizona, Illinois, Texas, Oregon, Maryland, Wisconsin, Georgia, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Canada. The conference will be held at the Omni Biltmore Hotel in downtown Providence.

In a live satellite telecast from 12:30-3:30 p.m. EST on the opening day of the conference, the researchers and other educators will discuss their work and what they've learned about educating a culturally and linguistically diverse student body. Schools and interested parties who wish to view the telecast may do so at no cost. For details on how to get the downlink, contact the LAB at 401-274-9548, ext. 273.

Editors: The conference is open to the media. Many of the researchers will be available for interviews to discuss how schools and communities can improve education for a culturally diverse classroom. In addition, the executive director of the LAB and the executive director of The Education Alliance are available to discuss the organizations' work and anticipated outcomes of the conference. Contact the News Bureau for additional information.

The LAB at Brown is one of 10 federally funded applied research and development centers in the country and one of three specializing in the educational needs of a linguistically and culturally diverse students. The LAB serves Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The Education Alliance

The Education Alliance, based at Brown University, responds to the needs of diverse student populations in the public schools. Believing that language, culture, and diversity are fundamental to the success of educational reform, the Alliance creates partnerships with educators, policy-makers, researchers, and business and community agencies to promote advocacy at the national and local level; leadership and training for school superintendents and staff; language and culture curriculum designs; program models and practices; networking and conferences; and education reform initiatives.