To help mark Hispanic Heritage Month, the University of Oregon Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies will hold a public talk and group discussion on the Latino experience in public education. The event will also help launch the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics’ new theme of inquiry on the “Future of Public Education”

The event, “Latina/os and K-12 Education: Bridging Research and Practice,” will happen Thursday, Oct. 15, from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Ford Alumni Center’s Guistina Ballroom. It is free and open to the public.

Oregon public schools are facing significant challenges as more low-income, immigrant and English language learner students enroll and state funding falls short of what is needed to support them. The event will focus on what might be done to promote equity, reduce achievement gaps between Latino and white students and raise high school graduation rates.

Recently hired Eugene School District 4J Superintendent Gustavo Balderas will join 2015 Wayne Morse Visiting Distinguished Scholar Patricia Gándara — who also co-directs the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles — to discuss the current state of public education for Latinos in Oregon and to explore ways progress can be made throughout the state.

Gándara is a national influence and respected voice on the issues of Latino public education. She recently led the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics and serves as the K-12 education subcommittee co-chair of the President’s Advisory Commission.

While the event features 15-minute presentations by the two keynote speakers, it will also include a lively exchange between them, as well as a question-and-answer session following their prepared remarks. Additionally, five UO College of Education faculty members will give brief, three-minute presentations on their research.

Professors Audrey Lucero, Charles Martinez, Ellen McWhirter, Edward Olivos and Ilana Umansky all do research focused on the success and well-being of Latino in the K-12 education system. Their presentations will be followed by roundtable discussions. Gerardo Sandoval, co-director of the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies and associate professor in the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, will moderate the speakers.

The UO Division of Equity and Inclusion will host a closing reception in the Guistina Ballroom in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month immediately after the roundtables. While there will be free hors d’oeuvres, it’s a chance to further the discussion started at the education event.

“We think there are many people that are interested in this topic,” said McWhirter, who is also chairing the event. “I hope they walk away with the sense that while we face significant challenges in reducing achievement gaps in our schools and making schools more inclusive, affirming and effective with Latino students, there are ways forward. I want them to walk away with a sense of hope, energy and excitement for what we can do together.”

Sponsors for the event include the College of Education, the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, the UO Division of Equity and Inclusion, UO Libraries, the Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, the Latin American Studies Program, the Office of Academic Affairs, the College of Arts & Sciences’ humanities and social sciences divisions, Centro Latino Americano, the League of United Latin American Citizens of Lane County and SELCO Community Credit Union.

— By Nathaniel Brown, Public Affairs Communications