LINGUISTIC MINORITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Co-sponsored by Arizona State University Mary Lou Fulton College of Education

Restrictive Language Policies and Educational Outcomes for English Learners: 10 Years After Proposition 227

NAEP Scores in States That Cut Bilingual Ed. Fuel Concern on ELLs Published Online: May 9, 2008 in Education Week

Preliminary findings from new research suggest that in three states where voters decided to replace bilingual education with structured English immersion as the default method for teaching English-language learners, the new approach may be producing less-than-stellar results.

The studies were commissioned by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Linguistic Minority Research Institute at UC Santa Barbara, as well as the University of California’s All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity, or UC ACCORD .

The findings were presented here in California’s capital city during the institute’s Annual Conference on May 2-3 », which focused on “restrictive language policies.”   |   More »

Alan Bersin, Member, California State Board of Education

Took Office: February 22, 2006; Term Expires: January 15, 2010

Alan Bersin was appointed California’s Secretary of Education on July 1, 2005 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Immediately prior to his appointment by the Governor, he was Superintendent of Public Education in San Diego City Schools. Prior to becoming superintendent, Mr. Bersin served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California for nearly five years. As such, he was the chief federal law enforcement officer in San Diego and Imperial counties, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Mr. Bersin also served as the Attorney General’s Southwest Border Representative, responsible for coordinating federal law enforcement activities on the U. S./Mexico border.

Mr. Bersin previously was a senior partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson where he specialized in complex RICO, securities, commercial and insurance litigation before state and federal trial and appellate courts. He is a member of the California and Alaska bars.

Other professional experience includes employment as Special Counsel to the Los Angeles Police Commission, as visiting professor of law at the University of San Diego’s School of Law and as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Southern California Law Center.

Carlos Garcia, Superintendent, San Francisco Unified School District

Prior to his position in San Francisco which began in July 2007, Garcia was a superintendent for eleven years and has overseen districts with enrollments ranging from 7,800 to 300,000 students including two large urban school districts - Fresno, California, and Clark County, Nevada. Clark County District is one of the largest in the country.

Garcia was principal at San Francisco’s Horace Mann Middle School from 1988 to 1991. During his tenure, the school was restructured, student achievement improved, and the school was designated as both a California Distinguished school and a Blue Ribbon school. Under his leadership Mann was one of the first middle schools in the country to implement block scheduling and there was a long waiting list of families seeking admission.

Mr. Garcia began his career in education in 1975 and has held several roles, including teacher, principal, central office administrator, and leader in effective classroom instruction. He previously served as Vice President of Urban Markets for McGraw-Hill, an educational materials publishing company.

General = $95; Students (with ID) = $35