'National Conversations' on English Learner Education Monday-Tuesday in Los Angeles, Seattle

The second of a series of National Conversations on English Learner Education will be hosted by the U.S. Department of Education Monday and Tuesday simultaneously in Los Angeles and Seattle. Senior officials will be on hand to hear what's working and how instruction can be improved for students with limited English skills. Both sessions will be connected by video at the links below.

Rosalinda B. Barrera, assistant deputy secretary and director of the Office of English Language Acquisition, and Juan Sepúlveda, executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, will host a meeting in Los Angeles. U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., will welcome participants. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, assistant secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, will provide video remarks. Jose Rico, deputy director of White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, will lead the meeting in Seattle.

The purpose of the gatherings is to share best practices, challenges and recommendations for educating English language learners. Input from the meetings will help guide policy development for limited English students. The first set of National Conversations on English Learner Education meetings were held Feb. 10-11 in Dallas and Chicago. Future sessions are set for April 11-12 in New York and Charlotte, N.C.

Registration and other details can be found at http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/meetings/2011elconversation/.