FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2003
CONTACT: Luis Mercado, Palo Alto College Public Affairs
210.921.5077

Palo Alto to Host Fall Regional Conference

Palo Alto College and the Texas Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TexTESOL II) will host the 26th Annual Fall Regional Conference on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Palo Alto campus. The theme for the conference is, "Integrating Best Practices into ESL Instruction."

Dr. Heide Spruck Wrigley will deliver the keynote address, "ESL Literacy: What Works." Wrigley is a senior researcher with Aguirre International, a minority owned social science research firm in the San Francisco Bay area. She was the content specialist for a five-year national study on, "What Works for Adult ESL Literacy Students" which was completed in Jan. 2003. She also conducted a study for the U.S. Department of Labor that examined issues related to language, literacy and employment on the U.S.-Mexico border in the Spring 2003.

Instructor of ESOL at Palo Alto, John Trilling said, "Faculty and staff from bilingual educational, developmental English, and reading programs are welcome to participate in the conference." Trilling may be contacted at 210-921-5364 for more information.

For registration information contact Sharla Jones at 210- 651-1151. For conference information contact Ruth Kirkland at 210-684-3563 or register online at www.accd.edu/pac.

Palo Alto College is a fully accredited community college located on the Southside, and awards associate degrees, short-term certificates and offers non-credit continuing education classes. The college is recognized nationally for its high transfer rate. The campus is located at 1400 W. Villaret Blvd. at I-410 South and Texas Hwy. 16.