Curtis Acosta Returns to Western Washington University to Give Keynote Address on January 25th

Educator Curtis Acosta will be the keynote speaker at a symposium titled “From ME 2 WE. Creating a Mentoring Community” on Saturday, Jan. 25, at Western Washington University.

The symposium is open to the public and will be held from 8 a.m. until noon in the Viking Union Multipurpose Room on a first-come, first-served basis. A $10 donation is suggested, though not required. Educators and all interested in creating a community in which mentoring is important are encouraged to attend.

The symposium will open with a welcome at 8 a.m. followed by a presentation by lead mentors with Compass 2 Campus from 8:10 to 9 a.m.; a talk by Veronica Velez, WWU assistant professor of Secondary Education, from 9:10 to 10 a.m.; the talk by Acosta at 10 a.m., and then a participant raffle and closing at noon.

The symposium is sponsored by Western’s Compass 2 Campus program, the WWU Center for Education, Equity and Diversity and Western’s Diversity Fund.

Curtis Acosta has taught high school in Tucson for nearly 20 years and is an award-winning educator. He is founder of the Acosta Latino Learning Partnership, which is committed to helping educators and education professionals create dynamic learning environments, pedagogy and curriculum that will inspire every student to thrive. They strive to mentor educators through personal, detailed and interactive professional development that leads to transformative teaching and learning practices.

Compass 2 Campus, a proactive effort that sends trained WWU student mentors into schools, is in its fifth year at Western. The program offers academic mentoring in areas that lack funding in the elementary, middle and high schools throughout Whatcom and Skagit counties. The goal is to establish a connection between schools lacking funds and college students to increase graduations rates and inspire students to further their education.