The Church and U.S. Education: Challenges, Promises, and Best PracticesThis conference will be conducted in English. Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Time: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Venue: Erdman Center, Cooper Conference Room What are the educational challenges of our contemporary society? How can the Church provide faithful and effective responses to these educational challenges? This forum will bring experts from the Church, para-Church, not-for-profits and government to speak about the challenges facing educators in the United States, and provide effective responses to those challenges. Pastors, students, youth ministers, and educators will benefit from the models and queries of our distinguished panel. The Panelists: Fernando (Fred) Arzola Jr., Ph.D. is assistant professor and director of interdisciplinary studies at Nyack College. He has more than twenty years of experience working with youth in New York City, and founded the Urban Family Empowerment Center, a faith-based community center initiative. Arzola is the author of Prophetic Youth Ministry: Theory and Praxis in Urban Context. Danny Cortés is executive vice president and chief of staff of Esperanza, USA, where he has managed national programs. Currently he oversees executive staff and designs and implements new programs. Rev. Cortés, who has served as pastor of the First Spanish Baptist Church of Philadelphia, holds a master’s degree in divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from Eastern University. Jeremy Del Rio, Esq. consults churches and community groups on youth development, social justice, and cultural engagement. He is the co-founder and lead architect of 20/20 Vision for Schools, the movement to transform public education within a single generation of students. He co-founded and directs Community Solutions, Inc., a holistic youth development agency based in lower Manhattan that provides after school education, summer programs, and community outreach through Generation Xcel, and hosts service learning missions trips nationally through Chain Reaction. Jeremy is the founding youth pastor at Abounding Grace Ministries, and also worked as a corporate attorney in New York. Nicole Baker Fulgham, Ph.D. is the national director of Teach For America’s faith community initiative, which focuses on inspiring communities of faith to eliminate educational inequity. She serves on the board of several non-profit organizations including Faith In Public Life – which engages national faith communities in issues of justice and the common good. She has been an educator, policy analyst, and teacher-trainer. Nicole's doctoral studies at UCLA focused on urban education policy and teacher preparation. Gabriel A. Salguero is the director of the Hispanic Leadership Program at Princeton Theological Seminary’s Center of Continuing Education. Rev. Salguero received his M.Div. (magna cum laude) from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and is a Ph.D. candidate in Christian social ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He and his wife Jeanette pastor the multicultural Lamb’s Church in New York City. He also serves as a member of the Equal Employment Advisory Commission for the state of New Jersey. Valarie Smith is the U.S. Secretary of Education’s regional representative serving as conduit of educational information to and from New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where her focus is promoting understanding of the “No Child Left Behind Act.” Valarie has established outreach at the New Jersey Department of Education on higher standards and school assessments. She served on the Cherry Hill School Board, has taught elementary school, and is the mother of two grown daughters. Audience: Seminarians, pastors, educators, and para-church leaders
Space is limited, please register promptly. Registration fee:
$15.00 Contact Hours: 2.5 Continuing Education Units:.025 Pre-registration for the conference is required to ensure your place. To register: Online, or Call the Erdman Center at 609.497.7990, or Download this form and fax it to 609.497.0709, or
Mail it to: The Erdman Center
Registrations
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