Eugene School District 4J Superintendent Dr. Gustavo Balderas Named Nation’s Top Superintendent

CLLAS congratulates Dr. Gustavo Balderas, superintendent of the Eugene School District 4J, for being selected as the 2020 National Superintendent of the Year. Dr. Balderas was a featured speaker in October 2015 at the CLLAS-sponsored event “Latina/os and K-12 Education: Bridging Research and Practice.”

February 14, 2020—“Dr. Gustavo Balderas, superintendent of Eugene School District 4J since 2015, has been named the nation’s top superintendent.

“In his acceptance speech, Dr. Balderas identified himself as ‘a proud son of a migrant family from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico’ and ‘a proud product of our public school system.’

“‘It is truly an honor to serve in the role of superintendent of Eugene public schools. I am blessed to be in my community,’ said Dr. Balderas. ‘Seeing that kids are succeeding because of the changes we’re making drives me. We, as leaders, need to be champions for our profession. Education is the backbone to our democracy.’”

For the full story, go to the 4J website article: https://www.4j.lane.edu/2020/02/gustavo-balderas-national-superintendent-of-the-year/

Tags: Gustavo Balderas, public schools

NWWS “Crossing Borders: What It Means in the Life of a Child,” with keynote author Reyna Grande

Reyna Grande is the keynote author.

Browsing Room
Knight Library
1501 Kincaid St.
UO campus

5th Annual CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium

Friday afternoon Panel: “Crossing Borders: What It Means in the Life of a Child,” with keynote author Reyna Grande

This panel will focus on the memoir The Distance Between Us, featuring Reyna Grande reading sections from her work, with comments by community educators and University of Oregon faculty.

Reyna Grande’s novels, Across a Hundred Mountains and Dancing with Butterflies, were published to critical acclaim and have been read widely in schools across the country. In her memoir The Distance Between Us (Atria Books, 2012), Grande writes about her life before and after her undocumented border crossing as a young child from Mexico to the United States. A National Book Circle Critics Award finalist, this book was hailed by Los Angeles Times reviewer Hector Tobar as “the Angela’s Ashes of the modern Mexican immigrant experience.”

Panelists include:

• Reyna Grande, novelist and memoirist, keynote speaker.
• Moderator: Lynn Stephen, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies at the University of Oregon and co-director of the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies (CLLAS).
• Gustavo Balderas, Superintendent, Eugene School District 4J
• Lidiana Soto, UO alumna; community activist
• Carmen Urbina, Program Development and Outreach Coordinator, Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership Program, UO College of Education.

This panel will be immediately followed by a light reception. › Continue reading

Tags: Carmen Urbina, CLLAS, CSWS, Gustavo Balderas, Lynn Stephen, Reyna Grande, UO

Photographs & video recordings for “Latina/os and K-12 Education: Bridging Research and Practice”

Photos by Mickey Stellavato
Note: to make the slideshow go faster, simply click on each slide.

Links for UO Channel video recordings of the CLLAS-organized event held Oct. 15, 2015, Latina/os and K-12 Education: Bridging Research and Practice.

http://media.uoregon.edu/channel/archives/10205

http://media.uoregon.edu/channel/archives/10209

Tags: 4-J, CLLAS, Gustavo Balderas, Latina/os and K-12 Education: Bridging Research and Practice, Patricia Gándara