Campus News

Multicultural scholar will speak at education conference

Sonia Nieto, one of the nation’s most recognized scholars in multicultural and bilingual education, will be the keynote speaker at a one-day conference titled, “School Counselors as Advocates for Latino Students,” on Feb. 16 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel.

Nieto, professor emerita of language, literacy and culture in the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will deliver a keynote address entitled, “Counseling Latino Students: Lessons from the Field.” Nieto’s research focuses on curriculum reform, teacher education, Puerto Rican children’s literature and the education of Latinos, immigrants and other culturally and linguistically diverse student populations.

Nieto’s first book, Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education (1992), soon to be in its fifth edition, is used widely in multicultural education and professional development courses.

Other books include The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities (1999) and What Keeps Teachers Going? (2003), both from Teachers College Press. Books she has edited include Puerto Rican Students in U.S. Schools (Erlbaum, 2000) and Why We Teach (Teachers College Press, 2005).

Pedro Portes, the Goizueta Distinguished Chair in Latino Teacher Education and executive director of UGA’s Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education, will deliver a luncheon address entitled, “What Counselors Need to Know About Success for Latino Students.”

Co-sponsored by CLASE and the department of counseling and human development services in the College of Education, the conference also will include a panel of counselors and several breakout sessions. The registration fee is $70.