Join us for our second annual Immigration Forum that will help participants understand the educational challenges and rewards facing immigrants, refugees and educators around the state of Iowa. The forum will be held on February 9, 2010, from 2:45-5:15 p.m. at the Polk County Convention Complex, at the conclusion of the 24th annual Iowa Culture and Language Conference (ICLC).
The forum will include a panel of local and national experts who will share facts about immigration and implications for Iowa educators as well as individuals who have immigrated to the United States who will share their first-hand experiences. Click here to view a list of our panelists.
The information shared at the forum is appropriate and timely as Iowa's student population continues to become more diverse. The 2009 Condition of Education Report from the Iowa Department of Education indicated that the student minority population in Iowa was at 15.5% in the 2008-09 school year, which was up from 14.4% in 2008-08 and from 4.5% in 1986.
As may be expected with the increase of Hispanic and other minority enrollments, the number of English Language Learner (ELL) students has also risen in recent years. The 20,750 ELL students in Iowa schools in the 2008-09 school year was more than double the number reported 10 years earlier. In addition, African American students made up 5.8% of the student population last school year.
The increasing diversity of Iowa's families presents many new challenges as well as opportunities for schools and educators. This forum will enable today's teachers, administrators, business leaders and legislators to learn more about immigration and how to best serve students of diverse backgrounds.
For more information, contact Stephaney Jones-Vo at (515) 270-0405 ext. 14680 or Gilmara Mitchell at (515) 270-0405 ext. 14679
