(NAME-MCE) Multicultural Conference and Award Winners Announced

Fri Sep 26 18:20:38 EDT 2008

NEWS

Connecticut Department of Education

  Dr. Mark K. McQuillan
 Commissioner

For Immediate Release:                              Friday, September 26,
2008  

Contact: Tom Murphy 860.713.6525

   Multicultural Conference and Award Winners Announced

(Hartford, Connecticut)  A public school educator considered by her
colleagues to be the conscience of the school system, a faculty member who
has inspired promising teachers for almost 30 years, and a teacher training
program that is receiving national attention will all receive awards at the
13th Annual New England Conference on Multicultural Education (NECME) being
held at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, CT on Wednesday,
October 8, 2008. The popular conference attracts educators from Connecticut,
the other New England states, as well as the rest of the country. It is the
oldest and largest event of its kind in the region.  

This conference has been a popular forum for educators working on ways to
close the achievement gap, eliminate discrimination in schools and prepare
all students for a diverse world of work. Participants learn innovative ways
to teach diverse students, and about programs that successfully infuse
multicultural education in the curriculum, and the work of exceptional
individuals and programs engaged in multicultural education. Participants
include PK-12 teachers, administrators, community activists, higher
education faculty and students, and staff from educational organizations and
agencies. 

The keynote speaker for this year’s conference is Dr. Carlos Cortés,
Emeritus of History at the University of California, Riverside. Two of his
most recent books, The Children Are Watching: How the Media Teach about
Diversity and The Making -- and Remaking -- of a Multiculturalist, were
published by Teachers College Press, while he is co-author of the Houghton
Mifflin Social Studies series and senior consultant for the McDougal Littell
World History series. Cortés serves as Creative/Cultural Advisor for
Nickelodeon's Peabody-award-winning children's television series "Dora the
Explorer" and its sequel "Go, Diego, Go!"; he also performs his one-person,
autobiographical play A Conversation with Alana: One Boy's Multicultural
Rite of Passage. His recent honors include the National Association of
Student Personnel Administrators' Outstanding Contribution to Higher
Education Award, the California Association for Bilingual Education's
Inspiration Award, and the University of California, Riverside's Emeritus
Professor of the Year Award.

The luncheon will feature the Annual Multicultural Awards. Two educators and
one program will be honored for supporting multicultural initiatives in
education.
*      P-12 Multicultural Educator of the Year for 2008 

Diane Kearney is selected as P-12 Multicultural Educator of the Year for
2008 in recognition of the work she has done to promote multiculturalism and
equity in education. Diane Kearney serves as Manchester, CT’s, K-12
Supervisor of Equity Programming, a position she has held for 6 years. Diane
is considered by many to be the conscience of Manchester schools, ensuring
that the education of all students be looked at through the lens of race. In
doing so, her work benefits all students by fostering a school community
where racial understanding becomes the pervasive norm, and where racism is
actively and persistently extinguished. The award is given by the Center for
Multicultural Research and Education at Central Connecticut State
University.

*      Higher Education Multicultural Faculty of the Year Award

Dr. Lorrie Stoops Verplaetse is selected as Higher Education Multicultural
Faculty of the Year for 2008 in recognition of the work she has done to
promote multiculturalism and equity in education. Having worked in higher
education for approximately 30 years, Lorrie is currently Associate
Professor of Foreign Languages at Southern Connecticut State University. As
Principal Investigator of a 10-year, multi-million dollar grant from the
U.S. Department of Education, Dr. Verplaetse has trained hundreds of
Connecticut educators on best practices for English language learners. Dr.
Verplaetse has established a career-long focus on second language
acquisition and its role in valuing and promoting diversity. As a previous
Fulbright Scholar in Applied Linguistics, Dr. Verplaetse has produced more
than 45 national and international presentations, numerous scholarly
publications, and is active in the university community, promoting the
values of diversity and social justice. The award is given by the Neag
School of Education at the University of Connecticut.

*      Multicultural Program of the Year Award for 2008

The Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut is selected to
receive the Multicultural Program of the Year Award for 2008. The Neag
School infuses multicultural values into every facet of its life. The School
has established an Advisory Council on Diversity with faculty and student
representatives. The Neag School has made an institutional priority of the
twin goals of urban school improvement and closing the achievement gap. It
has developed bilingual education courses, studied and consulted with public
school choice programs, and helped state agencies to evaluate diversity
programs on migrant education and first generation college students,
established the Institute for Urban School Improvement, and secured federal
funding to provide professional development in mathematics and pedagogy to
Hartford elementary teachers. Through its own fundraising efforts, the
School provides its students with close to $500,000 in merit and need based
scholarships, making it possible for poor and minority candidates to
continue training to be teachers. The award is given by Quinnipiac
University.

The conference runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is sponsored by the
Connecticut State Department of Education, New England Equity Assistance
Center-Brown University; University of Connecticut-Neag School of Education;
Connecticut Chapter-National Association for Multicultural Education,
Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University;
Southern Connecticut State University, Connecticut Education Association
(CEA), Goodwin College, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education
(CABE), and Quinnipiac University.

Online registration is available until Sept. 29, 2008. On-site registration
will be available. 
For more information on the conference, contact Bill Howe, Conference Chair
at 860-807-2031 or by e-mail at william.howe at ct.gov. To register or for more
information go to the web at www.necme.org <http://www.necme.org/> 

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