The benefits and challenges of providing dual-language programs in schools will be explored at a forum from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 28, at DePaul University’s Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., at the Lincoln Park Campus.

Titled “Education, Language and Immigration: Demographic Realities and Educational Implications,” it is the second in a series of public policy forums on topics especially relevant to Chicago’s Latino/Mexican community and those who work in it. The forum is free and open to the public.

The forum will feature Sonia Soltero, associate professor in bilingual/bicultural education at DePaul; Christine Tardy, assistant professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse at DePaul; and William Olsen, principal of Noble Street Charter School on Chicago’s North side. The forum is sponsored by DePaul’s Office of Faculty Development and Research.

“Dual-language programs provide students with invaluable skills and better prepare them for success in a global society,” said Rafaela Weffer, associate vice president for faculty development and research at DePaul University.

In dual-language programs, students are exposed to two languages at the same time throughout the school day, rather than just a few times a week.

Soltero will discuss the complex challenges that educators face in addressing the needs of an increasingly linguistic and culturally diverse pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade student population in the United States, specifically in Illinois and the Chicago metropolitan area. Her presentation also will include information on the current demographic landscape to provide the context for further discussion on the implications and recommendations of federal, state and local policies, as well as proven effective practices that facilitate the highest academic attainment for language minority students.

Tardy will describe the characteristics of adult English-as-a-Second-Language learners and discuss some of the challenges that multilingual speakers face in higher education, as well as various policies and institutional structures that can maximize the benefits that multilingual students bring to learning institutions.

Olsen, formerly a teacher and assistant principal at Nuestra America Charter High School in Chicago, will discuss overcoming the obstacles of implementing dual-language programs in schools. Olsen was a teacher, advisor and English department chair at Noble Street Charter High School for four years before becoming principal. Each year, Noble Street students have the highest state test scores of any non-selective school in the city. Noble also sends 80 percent to 90 percent of its students to college.

The forum will conclude with a public discussion on the issue. For more information, please contact Lorraine Mora-Chavez at (312) 362-6672 or lmora1@depaul.edu.