Heartland AEA 11
Home | .

Immigration Forum

Forum to Provide Essential Information on the Education of Immigrants & Refugees in Iowa

Heartland AEA is proud to sponsor, in collaboration with Northwest AEA and Des Moines Area Community College, a 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.

Forum Facilitator:

  • Rekha Basu: Columnist, Des Moines Register

Forum Panelists:

  • Mawi Asgedom: ICLC Keynote Speaker, Author and Motivational Speaker, Chicago
  • Brenda Auxier-Mailey: Director of Student Services, Urbandale Community School District, Urbandale
  • Lori Chesser: Attorney, Davis Brown Law Firm, Des Moines
  • Laura Douglas: Provost, DMACC Urban Campus, Des Moines
  • Sandra Fernandez-Bergersen: Director of National Origin, Midwest Equity Assistance Center, Manhattan, Kans.
  • Aiddy Phomvisay: Associate Principal, Valley High School, West Des Moines Community School District, West Des Moines
  • Ewa Pratt: ESL District Chair/Instructor, DMACC, Ankeny
  • Roger Rosenthal: Executive Director, Migrant Legal Action Program, Washington, D.C.
  • Dr. Yogesh Shah: Associate Dean of Global Health, Des Moines University, Des Moines
  • Amy Weinmann: Title III Program Officer, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.

"The creation of the immigration forum was a response to requests from our external partners to support them in serving diverse learners," Stephaney Jones-Vo, diversity consultant at Heartland AEA, says. "The forum was conceived to provide factual information explicitly related to education issues and to create a network for continuing the exchange of information among educators, business leaders and our legislators."

This opportunity to meet representatives knowledgeable on laws and issues related to immigration offers an excellent networking and learning experience for educators and partners in Iowa education.

At the start of the forum, Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, will receive a "Global Impact Award" from Heartland AEA for his tireless efforts to assist people around the world during his 32-year career in the United States Foreign Service.

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.