Bilingual Parent Group sponsors presentation by Reyna Grande

The Township High School District 214 Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee is sponsoring a presentation in Spanish by Reyna Grande, an award-winning author, speaker and educator.

The event will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at Forest View Educational Center, 2121 S. Goebbert Road, in Arlington Heights.

Grande came to the United States at the age of 10 and later became the first person in her family to graduate from college. She has a bachelor of arts degree in creative writing and film & video from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from Antioch University. Her memoir, "The Distance Between Us" about her childhood in Mexico and her young adulthood in the United States, was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. The Los Angeles Times called it, "The Angela's Ashes" of the modern Mexican immigrant experience."

Grande currently teaches creative writing workshops in her community and speaks at schools across the nation. She is also a member of the Macondo Writers Workshop, which was founded by renowned author Sandra Cisneros.

In addition to Grande's presentation, there will be student awards, a dance performance, a raffle and refreshments.

For general questions, contact Norman Kane, District 214 ELL director, at (847) 718-7836.

For more specific information, parents should call their local Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee representative: Wheeling High School, Bertha Sanchez (847-718-7074); Buffalo Grove High School, Alfonso Cides (847) 718-4221; Rolling Meadows High School, Gabriela Medina (847) 718-5669; Elk Grove High School, Ruby Aleman (847) 718-4449; Prospect High School, Colleen Carroll (847) 718-5277; John Hersey High School, Celia DeLeon (847) 718-4859; Newcomer Center, Francisco Cortez (847) 718-7937.