Supporting Dual Language Families – STEP’s Lunchtime Leaders Webinar

To offer tips for families who speak dual languages including:

• School Enrollment: Registration rights and requirements, grade placement, language accessibility and community access in general;
• Eligibility for ESL (English as a Second Language) Services: What is it? Immersion? The flow of services;
• IEP (Individual Education Program) Participation: Process, eligibility, diagnosis, determining between language difference or disability, Bilingual Staff’s roles and more;
• Accommodations, Assessments, and Evaluations for ESL’s;
• The transition from High School: Testing, graduation, and life after high school.

Presenters:

Patricia Valladares, Multicultural Community Engagement Coordinator, STEP, Inc.

Patricia provides information to Hispanic families statewide and assists in outreach efforts to Hispanic families. Patricia worked as an Inter-Institutional Advocate for nine years and served on the Committee for the Blind and Deaf in Guatemala, Central America. She is a native Spanish speaker and is a person who experiences blindness. Patricia serves as the Governor appointed PTI representative on the board of the Statewide Independent Living
Council and is a Board member of the Middle TN Council of the Blind.

Martha Lopez, Bilingual Family Educator, and Project Assistant, STEP, Inc.

Martha currently attends Belhaven University for a B.A. in Social Services and has more than 13 years of experience in the field of education. Martha has been a strong advocate for the Hispanic community, first through her job with Memphis City Schools where she worked as a Bilingual Cultural Mentor for 8 years, and now with STEP for 3 years. Her expertise in breaking down cultural and communication barriers has helped the non-English speaking students and parents accommodate the customs of American society, including the school system. Her commitment and passion are to serve the children and their families with disabilities empowering them along their journey.

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Handouts and Resources:

• Supporting Dual Language Families Webinar 7-23-15
• Protections for Undocumented Children Fact Sheet
• Information for Limited English Proficient (LEP)
• Información para padres y tutores con dominio limitado del idioma inglés (LEP)
• STEP Special Education Child Flow Chart (English)
• STEP Special Education Child Flow Chart (Spanish)
• Questions for ESL & Special Education Placement

STEP’s Lunchtime Leaders Webinar Recorded: 07/23/2015