Teacher of the year to speak at multilingual expo

The Carson City School District invites learners and families to attend its free Multilingual Learner Expo from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Carson High School’s High Tech Center, 1111 N. Saliman Road.

The event is intended to increase community and family engagement, according to assistant director of equity and English language programming Dr. Tanya Scott.

“We wanted to do it across sites, and sometimes we have parent engagement but not necessarily among our entire population, and really we just wanted a chance to celebrate our students who are multilingual,” Scott said.

Special guest speaker Juliana Urtubey, 2021 National Teacher of the Year, will speak about her efforts in providing a “Joyous and Just” education as an advocate and as an immigrant, Scott said. Parents also can enjoy breakout sessions in which they’ll have opportunities to meet with education professionals on topics related to their students’ needs and experiences in the school district, she said.

“They’ll learn how to capitalize on their students’ native language to help with schoolwork at home on the secondary and elementary levels,” she said.

The expo will offer a continental breakfast at 9:30 a.m., Urtubey’s presentation and a drawing with prizes.

There will be a session on mental health services, and participants can speak with local community partners during breakout sessions to be connected with experts.

Carson High School students also will have their artwork on display at the expo.

Carson City School Board Trustee Lupe Ramirez, who has advocated for the district’s English learners and programs, looked forward to having Urtubey at the event.

“As a school trustee for the Carson City School District, I am so grateful to the superintendent and his staff for their efforts to coordinate events that welcome all parents, regardless of their background, to be part of the team,” Ramirez said. “I am a firm believer that parents are the key to student success.”

The district’s Multilingual Learner Vision Team is sponsoring the event with the Carson City Library, Partnership Carson City, Carson City Health and Human Services, Centro Market, Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada and United Federal Credit Union.

For information, contact Scott at 775-283-1507 or tscott@carson.k12.nv.us.