Feb. 6, Wednesday -- Education experts will focus on ways to improve the academic literacy of culturally and linguistically diverse students in California schools at a one-day summit on Feb. 6. The summit will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the ballroom of the Activities and Recreation Center on the UC Davis campus. Media are welcome to cover the meeting. Registration for general attendees is $100.

Keynote speakers will include Russlynn Ali, founding director of Education Trust-West, an Oakland-based nonprofit focused on improving schools and colleges; Mary Schleppegrell, a professor of education at the University of Michigan; and Shirley Brice Heath, a professor of English and dramatic literature at Stanford.

Academic literacy refers to the level of fluency in written and spoken English that students need to succeed in academic coursework in U.S. classrooms.

The summit is sponsored by the UC Davis School of Education, Woodland and Yuba community colleges and the Yolo County Office of Education. For more information or to register online, visit http://education.ucdavis.edu/cress/acad_literacy/index.html.