This conference is for program directors and administrators of community-based heritage language schools; members of the language communities involved in these schools; and directors and leaders in public, private, and charter schools who are interested in working with community-based heritage language schools.

2018 Program

We had a rich and powerful program and a wonderful set of speakers. Language Representatives from many different heritage languages represented their diverse language communities.

Themes and Topics Covered in 2018

• Engaging Students/Engaged Learning

• Building and Maintaining Successful Community-Based Schools

• How Can We Connect and Collaborate in Our Heritage Language Work?

• Dynamic, Responsive, Successful Instruction and Community Outreach

Schedule

Friday, October 12, 2018

• 6:00PM - 7:30PM, Meet and Greet - Chevy Chase Pavillion

Saturday, October 13, 2018

• 8:30AM - 9:00AM, Conference Registration
• 9:00AM - 10:45AM, Opening Plenary
  • Welcome and Opening Statements
  • Conference Co-Sponsors
  • Keynote Address: Engaging Students in Community-Based Schools in Project-Based Learning 
  • Keynote Response from Community-Based School Language Representatives
  • Discussion
• 10:45 - 11:00AM, Break
• 11:00AM - 11:55AM, Concurrent Workshops: Building and Maintaining Successful Community-Based Schools
  • Concurrent Workshop #1: Starting and Sustaining a Community-Based School (for Administrators)
  • Concurrent Workshop #2: Assessing Student Proficiency (for Teachers)
  • Concurrent Workshop #3: Students Gaining Credit for Proficieny (for Teachers and Administrators)
• 12:05PM - 1:00PM, Concurrent Workshops Repeated: Building and Maintaining Succcessful Community-Based Schools
• 1:00PM - 2:00PM, Lunch
• 2:00PM - 2:30PM, Panel: How Can We Connect and Collaborate in Our Heritage Language Work?
• 2:30PM - 3:00PM, Meet with the Panelists: Making Connections
• 3:00PM - 3:15PM, Break
• 3:15 - 4:10PM, Concurrent Workshops: Dynamic, Responsive, Successful Instruction and Community Outreach
  • Concurrent Workshop #1: Engaging Families and Communities (for Teachers and Administrators)
  • Concurrent Workshop #2: Differentiating Instruction and Engaging Students (for Teachers)
  • Concurrent Workshop #3: Dynamic, Responsive, Successful Language Programs: Results from Research on Dual Language Immersion Programs (for Teachers and Administrators)
• 4:20PM - 5:15PM, Panel Discussion: Building Connections Within a Language Community
• 5:15PM - 5:45PM, Conference Closing
• 5:45PM - 7:00PM, Reception

Conference Goals

The goals of the conference are to:

1. Build partnerships among and across community-based heritage language schools and determine arenas for future action
2. Help schools create, strengthen, and build their school structures and activities
3. Make clear the importance of community-based heritage language schools in the United States and in the lives of language communities in this country
4. Develop information about community-based heritage language schools through a national survey of schools
5. Share and make available resources that will be helpful to schools 

Conference organizers and Sponsors

The conference is organized by the National Coalition of Community-Based Heritage Language Schools, American University's Insitute for Innovation in Education and TESOL Program in Washington, DC.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL); National Heritage Language Resource Center (NHLRC) at UCLA; and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

Conference Planning Team

• Joy Kreeft Peyton, Conference Chair, Senior Fellow, Center for Applied Linguistics
• Ana Lucia Lico, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Brazilian Association for Culture and Education (ABRACE)
• Danielle Gervais Sodani, Director, Institute of Innovation in Education, American University, School of Education
• Polina Vinogradova, Director, TESOL Program, Department of World Languages and Cultures, American University

Founders and Leaders of Programs Focused on Specific Languages

The following languages have been represented at the conference in previous years. The National Coalition of Community-Based Language Schools has language representatives for each of these languages who are closely engaged with those working in community-based heritage language programs in their language community and are interested in making connections with other language groups and with the national effort, the Coalition. They serve as a liaison between their language community and the work of the Coalition, so that we work together effectively. Check out the to learn more about the language representatives and their responsibilities.

American Sign Language
Amharic (Ethiopia)
Arabic
Bulgarian
Chinese
Czech/Slovak
Farsi
French
German
Greek
Hindi
Italian
Japanese
Lithuanian
Korean
Polish
Portuguese
Spanish
Urdu
Vietnamese