Elena Izquierdo, an expert on bilingualism and biliteracy, will be the speaker for the 2006 Utah Association for Bilingual Education Conference, "Language Is a Valuable Resource."

The conference will be Friday, Oct. 20, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Granite School District Center, 2500 S. State. The cost is $25, or $10 for students.

Izquierdo is associate professor of bilingual education and English as a second language instruction at the University of Texas, El Paso. She was the principal of the nationally recognized Two Way Dual Language elementary school in Washington, D.C., and director for language minority affairs, leading the district into federal compliance in services to language minority communities. Her research focuses on second language issues and biliteracy development.

For more information, to register or submit an award nomination, visit www.uabe.org, or contact Barbara Lovejoy at 801-466-1117 or bclovejoy@msn.com.