Professional Development

Overview of CAEBER Conferences

Conference 2005 | Conference 2008

In 2005, after eight successful years of the ASL/English Bilingual Professional Development Program, CAEBER hosted its first national conference. The goal of our biennial conferences is to bring together Star Schools mentors and administrators from schools for the deaf, STAR Online college and university professors, educational leaders and researchers, members of the Deaf community, advocates, parents, and state and federal policymakers in order to raise our national consciousness about the importance of utilizing both ASL and English as languages of instruction for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

Presenters for the CAEBER conferences provide the most up-to-date information on ASL/English bilingual educational programs and practices within a language planning framework. Since the conferences are “working” conferences, the format encourages participants’ discussion, on issues related to ASL/English bilingual educational programs within a language planning framework, via roundtable discussions.

After attending a CAEBER Conference, CAEBER hopes that attendees will advocate for and provide more leadership in ASL/English bilingual education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students by adopting and promoting ASL as a clear language-as-resource ideological orientation in deaf education, elevate the legitimacy and status of ASL as an academic language, and advocate for the right of a deaf, hard-of-hearing, or hearing child to grow up bilingual.