SUMMARY

Millions of transnational children and youth in the US and Mexico move between education systems. They come from approximately 80 different nationalities, though most are Spanish speakers. Their numbers increase every year.  Quality education is the single most important factor in the well-being of these students. Both pre-service and in-service teachers need preparation and support to understand how to meet the needs and value the strengths of the students we share. Education quality is the combined responsibility of school leaders, teacher educators, teachers, policymakers, and researchers. This conference brings together stakeholders to better support educators at all levels and their transnational mobile students.

The symposium livestream recording is here.

PROGRAM

9:00 Doors open/coffee & pan dulce available

10:00 INTRODUCTION: Cristina Alfaro, San Diego State University (3 minutes) 

WELCOME:  Luis Gilberto Gallego Cortez, Secretario de Educación de Baja California  (5 minutes)

OPENING REMARKS: Luis Enrique Palafox Maestre, President/Rector, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (5 minutes)

10:20-11:20 SESSION ONE (60 minutes)

Social and Institutional Transnational Contexts for the Students We Share:  

demographic analysis of the students we share; similarities and differences between Mexico and the US in terms of teacher preparation, teacher professional development, and K-12 education policies and systems. 

Moderator:  Victor Zúñiga, Universidad Autónoma de Nueva León (3 minutes)

Presentations (7 minutes each)

• Erin Hamilton, University of California-Davis  

Who are the students we share? El perfil demográfico de los niños binacionales en México y los Estados Unidos

• Marelyn Marentes Retiz, San Diego State University  

Lotus flower / Flor de loto: a student perspective of the transnational schooling journey and challenges 

• Tatyana Kleyn, The City College of New York

Two contexts, one education: Similarities and differences between school systems in the U.S. and Mexico 

• Eunice D. Vargas-Valle, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte

Indicadores educativos de los alumnos que compartimos / educational indicators of the students we share

Audience Q&A and Moderator response (30 minutes)

11:20-11:30 SHORT BREAK (10 minutes)

11:35-12:35 SESSION TWO (60 minutes)

Preparing and Supporting Teachers of the Students We Share:   

current challenges and opportunities in pre-service teacher education; in-service professional development supports for Mexican and US teachers to learn about the lives of the students we share and to teach them in ways that are both effective and meaningful.

Moderator: Yara Amparo López López, Programa Binacional de Educación Migrante, Secretaria de Educación (introductions 3 minutes)

Presentations (7 minutes each)

• Cristina Alfaro, San Diego State University

Preparing Binational/Bilingual Teachers in the U.S. to meet the needs of transnational, mobile students 

• Dolores Graciela Cordero Arroyo, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California  

Retos de la formación continua del profesorado en México para la atención de alumnos transnacionales / The challenges of in-service teacher professional development in Mexico to better support transnational students

• Juan Sánchez García, Universidad Autónoma de Nueva León

Transformaciones y continuidades curriculares en la formación docente para la atención a alumnos migrantes / Curricular transformations and continuities for preparing pre-service teachers to support migrant students

• Mary Martinez Wenzl, multilingual and migrant education policy advocate

U.S. bilingual/binational teacher exchanges to support the students we share 

Audience Q&A and Moderator response (30 minutes)

12:40-13:40  NETWORKING LUNCH (60 minutes)

13:45-14:15 BOOK TALK (30 minutes)

Introductions:  Edmund T. Hamann, University of Nebraska (3 minutes)

Authors (4 minutes each)

• Cristina Alfaro

The Handbook of Dual Language Bilingual Education

• Bryant Jensen

The Students We Share: Preparing US and Mexican Educators for Our Transnational Future  (Y en Español)

• William Pérez

Culturally Responsive Schooling for Indigenous Mexican Students

• Tatyana Kleyn

Living, Learning, and Languaging Across Borders Students Between the US and Mexico

• Victor Zúñiga 

Lo que los maestros mexicanos conviene que conozcan acerca de la educación en Estados Unidos (What Mexican teachers need to know about education in the United States)

Audience Q&A (10 minutes)

14:20-15:00 SESSION THREE (40 minutes)

Education Policies and Programs Needed for Teaching the Students We Share:  enactment of existing laws that guarantee free and accessible education for transnational children; policy recommendations in both countries germain to language in teaching; asset-oriented teacher preparation; job-embedded professional development, and binational education partnerships.

Moderator:  Sera J. Hernández, San Diego State University (introductions 3 minutes)

Presentations (7 minutes each)

• Edmund T. Hamann, University of Nebraska

Policies and Programs Needed in US School Districts:  What Do States Need to Do?

• Daniel Hernandez, Universidad Pedagógica Nacional 

Policies and programs needed in Mexico for teacher preparation 

• Bryant Jensen, Brigham Young University 

Infrastructure needed for school-based teacher collaborations that improve learning opportunities for the students we share

Audience Q&A (15 minutes)

15:05-15:45 SESSION FOUR  (40 minutes)

Education Models, Legislation and Immigration Trends Impacting the Students We Share 

Moderator: David R. Garcia, Arizona State University (introductions 3 minutes)

Presentations (7 minutes each)

• Cynthia Yepez, Office of  CA Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-80) 

Strengthening CA-MX Education Opportunities through Binational Legislation (e.g., CA AB 91)

• Jorge Cuevas Antillón, San Diego County Office of Education 

Binational School Model:  La Academia Global de las Californias

• Agustín Escobar Latapí, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social 

A vision for immigration policies and the future of our transnational students in Mexico and the United States 

Audience Q&A (15 minutes)

15:50-16:10  CLOSING REMARKS:  Silvia Giorguli Saucedo, President, El Colegio de México 

How future collaboration between Mexico and the U.S. can best serve the Students We Share (20 minutes)

16:15  BOOK RAFFLE