SPRING CONFERENCE APRIL 16-17, 2021
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We invite you to register for Spring 2021 Virtual Conference on Friday, April 16, 2021 through Saturday, April 17, 2021. The Spring 2021 Conference theme is Deepening our Understanding: Building a Stronger Community for Justice in Education. It is designed to leverage work from the fall conference on the critical topics of equity, diversity and inclusion. The conference is scheduled from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM on Friday and Saturday. Each day will consist of a keynote address followed by two breakout sessions and an update from our colleagues at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
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2021 Program Highlights
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Friday Keynote Spotlight
Dr. Mariela Páez 
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COMTEC Presents: Saturday Keynote Spotlight
Dr. Eric DeMeulenaere 
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Dr. Mariela Páez is an Associate Professor at the Lynch School of Education, Boston College. She has a doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. Her primary research interests include bilingualism, children’s language and early literacy development, and early childhood education. Dr. Páez has conducted several longitudinal studies with young bilingual children with funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the Office for Educational Research and Improvement, Department of Education. From 2013-2018, Páez was an appointed member of the Early Literacy Expert Panel of Massachusetts, and she helped develop recommendations for improving reading proficiency among students in the state. Last year, she participated as Literacy Champion to support the development of an early literacy guide by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She is author of numerous articles and has published in leading journals including Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, American Educational Research Journal, Topics in Language Disorders, and Equity & Excellence in Education. She is also co-editor of Latinos: Remaking America (with Marcelo Suárez Orozco, 2008), and author of Teaching Dual Language Learners: What Early Childhood Educators Need to Know (with Lisa López, 2021).
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Eric DeMeulenaere is an Associate Professor in ClarkUniversity’s Education Department. Prior to joining Clark University’s faculty, he taught middle and high school social studies and English in Oakland and San Francisco, CA. In 2004, he co-founded and directed an innovative small public school in East Oakland that focused on social justice and increased academic outcomes for youth of color. Before opening the school, Dr. DeMeulenaere earned his Ph.D. in the Social and Cultural Studies Program at U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education. He has consulted with urban school leaders and teachers nationally and internationally to transform their organizational school cultures and address social and racial inequities. His research employs participatory action research and narrative inquiry methods and draws extensively from critical theory to examine how to create more effective and liberatory learning spaces for urban youth. More recently, Dr. DeMeulenaere was the cofounder and founding director of the innovative and award-winning new major at Clark University, Community, Youth, and Education Studies, which engages undergraduates in community-based activist research. Dr. DeMeulenaere is the co-author of Reflections from the Field: How Coaching Made Us Better Teachers (2013) and The Activist Academic: Engaged Scholarship for Resistance, Hope and Social Change (2020).
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Conference at a Glance
FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021
9:00 - 9:15 AM
Welcome & Introductions
9:15 - 10:15 AM
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mariela Páez
10:15 - 10:25 AM
Break
10:25 - 11:25 AM
Concurrent Session A
11:25 - 11:35 AM
Break
11:35 - 12:35 PM
Concurrent Session B
12:35 - 12:40 PM
Break
12:40 - 1:30 PM
DESE Presentation
Welcome & Introductions
9:15 - 10:15 AM
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mariela Páez
10:15 - 10:25 AM
Break
10:25 - 11:25 AM
Concurrent Session A
11:25 - 11:35 AM
Break
11:35 - 12:35 PM
Concurrent Session B
12:35 - 12:40 PM
Break
12:40 - 1:30 PM
DESE Presentation
SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021
9:00 - 9:15 AM
Welcome & Introductions
9:15 - 10:15 AM
COMTEC Presents Keynote Speaker: Dr. Eric DeMeulenaere
10:15 - 10:25 AM
Break
10:25 - 11:25 AM
Concurrent Session A
11:25 - 11:35 AM
Break
11:35 - 12:35 PM
Concurrent Session B
12:35 - 12:40 PM
Break
12:40 - 1:30 PM
Discussion Roundtable: Reflections on Preparing Educators to work with Diverse Populations
Welcome & Introductions
9:15 - 10:15 AM
COMTEC Presents Keynote Speaker: Dr. Eric DeMeulenaere
10:15 - 10:25 AM
Break
10:25 - 11:25 AM
Concurrent Session A
11:25 - 11:35 AM
Break
11:35 - 12:35 PM
Concurrent Session B
12:35 - 12:40 PM
Break
12:40 - 1:30 PM
Discussion Roundtable: Reflections on Preparing Educators to work with Diverse Populations
