Information and Registration

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Save the Date:

Saturday, October 24, 2020
8:00 AM–4:00 PM

Registration will open in June 2020!

Location:

Bank Street College
610 West 112th Street
New York, NY 10025

Institute Fee:

• $195 Early Bird Fee when you register before September 30, 2020.
• $265 Conference Fee when you register after September 30, 2020.
• Registration Fees includes lunch.

Payment Information:

• Mail check/money order/purchase order payable to Bank Street College to:

Bank Street College/The Language Series
Attn: Gretchen Adams
610 West 112th Street
New York, NY 10025

• If you are paying by purchase order, please contact Gretchen Adams at gadams@bankstreet.edu or 212-875-4461.

Additional Information:

• One (1) graduate credit may be earned by registering for EDUC 651 Strategies for Language and Content Development, paying the tuition fee, and attending the conference and completing online work after the conference.
• Participants will receive 6 Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) Hours or .6 Continuing Education Unit. For inquiries, contact Gretchen Adams at gadams@bankstreet.edu or 212-875-4461.

Sponsorships to attend the Language Series are available to paraprofessionals and early career teachers of ELL’s currently teaching in public schools in New York State who commit to attend the conference for the full day, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Sponsored participants will write a 2-page reflection on what they learned from the conference presentations and will send it via email to Carla España, cespana@bankstreet.edu.

Check back for information on Sponsorships for 2020!

We thank the NYS Statewide Language Regional Bilingual Education Resource Center (RBERN) at New York University for the collaboration and sponsorship of pre-service and early career NYS teachers to attend the 2018 Annual Conference.

1. The Language of Dance and the Dance of Language
Led by Ana Rubinstein

• About the Workshop: This workshop offers interactive movement strategies that engage K-12 learners in the development of language. Workshop attendees should be prepared to move and participate as we apply dance education pedagogy to activities that ignite language acquisition. We will have opportunities to practice through Total Physical Response, student collaboration and peer feedback. We will also provide inroads for full participation for students with disabilities. Focus on grades: K – 12
• About the Presenter: Ana Inés Rubinstein, M.Ed. is the full-time Dance Teacher at the Manhattan School for Children (PS333), where she developed a physically integrated dance program that includes children with physical disabilities in the general dance program. She was also among the early teachers to develop the Dual Language Program at the Cypress Hills Community School (PS89) in Brooklyn. She is an active member of the National Dance Education Organization, a Mentor for the Hunter College Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Programs, and a member of the curriculum writing team for the 2015 revision of the New York City Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts.

2. Academic Conversations in the Content Area Classroom
Led by Lillian A. Stevens & Marisol Parra

• About the Workshop: What does an interactive bilingual classroom look and sound like when there’s a range of bilingual learners across the proficiency spectrum? How can teachers design for and scaffold the discussion so that ideas originate from the students and get shared across the group for all learners to grasp new content ideas? What about academic register, how does modeling come into play in re-casting and encouraging responses to sound a bit more like bona fide historians? All of these questions will be explored with two veteran dual language teachers. Lillian brings her expertise from the classroom and her current research on bilingual teacher language practices alongside Marisol, a native Spanish-speaker with a decade of experience designing content lessons with high expectations and high levels of support. Participants will review classroom discussion transcripts of conversations from a 4th grade Dual Language social studies classroom. They will create a script of student-teacher interactions that emulates the principles of academic discourse. Crafting student responses based upon a range of language proficiency levels will also be addressed. This session is intended for upper-elementary and middle school teachers of emergent bilinguals, as well as administrators and support staff who work with students across the language proficiency spectrum. Focus on grades: 3rd and up
• About the Presenters:
  Lillian A. Stevens is a bilingual/ESL specialist whose work spans fifteen years of service in the New York City public schools. As a dual language teacher in a K-5 school, Lillian was actively involved in curriculum design, specifically targeting the development of her students’ bilingual literacy skills. Her work as the writing specialist helped teachers adopt and adapt a formative assessment rubric for their students’ academic language development. As a doctoral student at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education, Lillian has attuned her research to studying teacher language knowledge in classrooms with emergent bilingual learners. She draws upon research in systemic functional linguistics and teacher dispositions to note the confluence of variables that influence a teacher’s decision-making processes to support learners’ development of disciplinary literacies. She is currently working closely with a principal to design a bilingual curriculum for a new dual language school while teaching as an adjunct lecturer at Brooklyn College.
• Marisol Parra is currently a fourth grade Dual Language teacher at P.S. 24 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. She has taught in a Transitional Bilingual classroom, as well as, a Dual ICT classroom. She graduated from Hunter College, CUNY, with an M.S. in Education and has been a part of the New York City Department of Education for 12 years.

3. Upholding Student Identities in the Classroom: Developing Language Through Readings, Discussions, and Projects
Led by Benelly Alvarez, Julissa Acevedo, & Grasilel Diaz

• About the Workshop: This workshop will take a look at different ways teachers can incorporate culturally relevant literature into their classrooms. We will discuss, share, and practice ways that students can make text-to-self connections with literature through personal student projects to support the development of receptive and expressive language. Facilitators will share project photos and videos of work done in a 1st grade and 4th-grade dual language inclusive classroom. We will also discuss practical ways to create culturally relevant multimedia/mixed media projects. Focus on grades: PreK – 12
• About the Presenters:
  Benelly Alvarez graduated from Bank Street College of Education in 2012 with a Master’s Degree in Dual Language Childhood Special Education. She is a current 4th Grade Dual Language Spanish and English Elementary School Teacher in New York City. She has over 12 years of teaching experience in transitional bilingual and dual language inclusive classrooms.
• Julissa Acevedo is a Bank Street College of Education graduate. She is currently a 4th Grade Dual Language Special Education teacher in the New York City Department of Education. Julissa has worked in the Department of Education for the past 9 years in various settings.
• Grasilel Diaz is a Dual Language special education public school teacher. She holds a Masters from Bank Street College in Dual Language/Bilingual Childhood Special and General Education. She recently finished her second Masters from Fordham University in Early Childhood Special and General Education. She has been working in public schools in Pre-K to 6th grade for the past 12 years.

4. Differentiation in the Classroom as a Tool to Support All Learners
Led by Judy Gutierrez & Santiago Mayorga

• About the Workshop: This workshop will explore the use of differentiation supports in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Through photos, videos, and examples this hands-on workshop will model essential supports and effective teaching practices that foster learning for all learners in a respectful and nurturing environment. We will also give participants opportunities to apply these practical strategies to their settings. Focus on grades: K – 8
  
• About the Presenters:
  Judy Gutierrez is a Bank Street College of education graduate. She is currently a Dual Language teacher at P.S./I.S. 210. She has been teaching in the classroom for 18 years. Judy started her career at Amistad Dual Language School teaching 2nd to 5th grade. For the last 8 years she has been teaching 5th grade Dual Language (English/Spanish). Her various experiences have prepared her to deal with a diverse range of learners as well as mentor colleagues and student teachers in order to share her skills and expertise.
• Santiago Mayorga is a Bank Street College of Education graduate. He is currently a Dual Language teacher at P.S./I.S. 210. He has been a teacher for 4 years in a dual language (English/Spanish) classroom. His experiences in the classroom have helped him develop strategies to work with a co-teacher in an ICT classroom as well as develop skills to manage the different components of teaching to support all learners.

5. One Child, Many Languages: Effective Practices in a Linguistically Diverse Early Childhood Setting
Led by Margaret Blachly & Carmen Colón

• About the Workshop: How can an early childhood classroom be all things for a young child’s social, emotional and cognitive development….AND build capacity for bilingualism? In this workshop, two Bank Street faculty members, Carmen Colón and Margaret Blachly will share the work they have done researching and showcasing the early childhood dual language practice at Castle Bridge School. They will introduce an e-book, created to offer teachers and teachers-in-training explicit examples of discrete practices that support children’s holistic language development in the K-1 classrooms. Through video footage of classroom practices and interviews with teachers, as well as discussion questions and guides, the e-book will open up new ideas and support teachers in taking next steps in their own setting. Throughout the workshop, Margaret and Carmen will facilitate the study of the Castle Bridge practice to support teachers in making plans for their own practice. Focus on grades: Pre-K – 2nd
• About the Presenters: Margaret Blachly & Carmen Colón