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Championing the Success of English Learners

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Californians Together

January 2022 Newsletter

January 31, 2022 by Californians Together

Check out our January 2022 Newsletter, highlighting

  • EL Roadmap Toolkit Series for Admistrators
  • Our new Communications Manager
  • Upcoming events:
    • LTEL Workshops from EL RISE!
    • Effective Literacy for ELs Webinar
    • Support for Immigrant and Refugee Students Statewide Convening.

Read the newsletter today!

jan-email

Filed Under: Blog, Home-Latest

Job Opening: Fund Developer

July 13, 2021 by Californians Together

Position: Fund Developer

Long Beach, CA [Another location in California is negotiable]

Exempt, Half-Time, Regular Position

 

Organizational Background:

Californians Together is a statewide advocacy coalition with the goal of better educating 1.2 million English learners by improving California's schools and promoting equitable educational policy.Position Summary:In the role of Fund Developer, you are directly responsible for identifying and qualifying various funding sources,including writing of grant proposals in implementation of the strategic plan, philanthropic partnerships, individual and major gifts. You will plan, coordinate and implement development plans to meet fund development and budgetary goals. Current overall annual fundraising goal is approximately $1 million,including grants, contracts and individual and corporate donors. Activities will also include research, drafting, proofreading, submitting, and tracking proposals; managing the grants calendar; and support of reporting requirements. Reports to the Executive Director. The position is a half-time, exempt position with potential full-time employment in the future.

 

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Participate with the Executive Director, Board of Directors and staff to lead the organization’s development strategies and continue to chart the organization’s course in fund development
  • Oversee the launch and execution, with the Executive Director & Board of Directors, of currently funded grants
  • Identify new potential government and private funding opportunities through publications, website subscriptions, the internet, and other resources that relate to Californians Together programs
  • Attend necessary bidders’ conferences and grant workshops as needed;Interact with and respond to questions from foundation representatives, and participate in relevant discussions and meetings
  • Design long-term strategies for consistent foundation support. Develop and maintain funding calendar
  • Correspond with funders about grant opportunities; apply for new funding.
  • Proposal writing and editing –Develop and write compelling proposals in response to foundation, and government RFPs; Review and edit proposals written by staff
  • Ensure that philanthropy and fund development are carried out in keeping with the organization’s values, mission, vision and plans
  • Oversee performance measures, monitor results and help the Executive Director and Board of Directors evaluate the effectiveness of the organization’s fund development program
  • Maintain and organize electronic foundation filing system and integrate with development database
  • Ability to manage donor relationships through periods of engagement and growth, ensuring that donor and volunteer interests are in alignment with organization priorities
  • Create, manage and direct the funding/revenue base while focusing on a comprehensive fund development plan to enhance the short-and long-term diversified funding base
  • Develop a balanced funding mix of donor sources and solicitation programs tailored to the needs of the organization that will enable it to attract, retain and motivate donors and fundraising volunteers
  • Provide oversight of all of the organization’s fund development activities and monitor adequacy of such activities through coordination with the Executive Director, the Board and the finance committee
  • Prepare and maintain monthly funding chart listing active grants, pending grants, and potential grants;Prepare monthly reports including activities, research, contacts made, inquiry letters submitted, proposals funded, and a running account of monies raised
  • Produce fundraising reports for senior management and Board of Directors
  • Partner with the Business Director to assure sound fiscal operation of the development function including timely, accurate and comprehensive development of charitable contributions income and expense budgets, reporting, monitoring and implementation
  • Assure design and maintenance of donor and prospect records, gift management systems, and informational reports. Keep donor base engaged and informed
  • Assure design and implementation of acknowledgment, stewardship and recognition programs with feedback and necessary check off systems
  • Execute all other reasonable duties as assigned by the Executive Director

 

Qualifications:

  • B.A. preferred; or 5 -7 years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience
  • Passion, imagination, vision, leadership, and integrity
  • A demonstrated ability to plan and operate strategically, to build public support, to develop and strengthen fund diversity to include grants, contracts and donations
  • Strong organizational skills and accountability toward goals
  • A minimum of five years of grant writing and fundraising experience
  • Significant experience in and a successful track record of major gift and annual fund fundraising

 

Personal Characteristics:

  • Commitment to the mission and work of Californians Together with the credibility and persuasiveness to secure support from others
  • A self-starter who is confident enough to express opinions, to forge ahead when appropriate and hold back when necessary, with a sensitivity to the feelings and opinions of others
  • Highly self-motivated with the ability to work independently
  • Ability to work with diverse people, build and maintain strong working relationships with both internal and external partners
  • Exceptional organizational skills and the ability to develop and follow a prioritized plan of work, set and keep deadlines and work on multiple projects concurrently
  • Exceptional communication skills with the ability to listen well
  • An energetic person who is emotionally mature and dependable; a collegial individual with a sense of humor.
  • Ability to exercise sound, independent judgment
  • Ability to contribute to a high functioning team environment
  • Patient, personable and approachable
  • Must be a team player who is inclusive, flexible, creative, energetic and fair-minded
  • Passion for improving the educational experiences and outcomes for dual language/English learners

 

Compensation:

Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications. Includes full health, dental and vision benefits, holidays, vacation and sick days. Office closes between Christmas Eve and New Year’s.

 

To Apply:

Please send cover letter, resume and (2) grant writing samples to:

Human Resources

hr@caltog.org

Filed Under: Human Resources, Job Positions, Uncategorized

Analysis: Educators Say Distance Learning Failed Most English Learners Last Spring. Here’s 10 Ways to More Effectively Serve ELs as Schools Reopen for Virtual and Blended Learning

September 14, 2020 by Californians Together

By Martha Hernandez, Californians Together Executive Director

American schools’ responses to COVID-19’s sudden interruption to public education varied considerably across the nation as students went from daily classroom learning to stay-at-home orders nearly overnight. Now, a new survey reveals the limits of that patchwork response to the emergency — and indicates key lessons for schools’ reopening this fall.

BARTLETT, ILLINOIS - MAY 01: Seven-year-old Hamza Haqqani, a 2nd grade student at Al-Huda Academy, uses a computer to participate in an E-learning class with his teacher and classmates while at his home on May 01, 2020 in Bartlett, Illinois. Al-Huda Academy, an Islam based private school that teaches pre-school through the 6th grade students, has had to adopt an E-learning program to finish the school year after all schools in the state were forced to cancel classes in an attempt to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.  (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Over the past several months, Californians Together, an English-learner advocacy organization, asked more than 650 educators to provide details about their schools’ distance learning plans, focusing particularly on how they served English learners. The results were sobering. Martha Hernandez discusses a 10-point road map for how Local, state leaders, and schools can address inequities as they prepare to relaunch public education in the fall.

Read the Full Piece Here

Filed Under: Blog, Home-Latest, Media Coverage Tagged With: COVID, COVID-19, Distance Learning, English Learners

School Closure and English Learners

September 1, 2020 by Californians Together

SCHOOL CLOSURE AND ENGLISH LEARNERS:

A Review of COVID-19 Operations Written Reports

2020.09.01 School Closure and Distance Learning - Californians Together

COVID-19 hit California like a bolt from the blue. No one could have predicted the size and scope of the threat it posed until it was too late, and public institutions—especially schools—were largely left scrambling to sketch hasty plans to continue their operations. But as California approaches half a year of lockdowns, school closures, and economic restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is time to cease treating it as a crisis to be coped with and begin treating it as a situation to be managed.

Better mid- and long-term planning begins with an assessment of the chaotic spring. How well did schools respond in the moment? What worked well, what was left out then—and how can schools do better in the upcoming school year?

To help answer these questions, Californians Together launched a collaborative review process of 79 California school districts’ COVID-19 Operations Written Reports. This brief offers a window into local districts’ decision-making and can serve as a guide for future improvement.

READ THE FULL POLICY BRIEF
DOWNLOAD THE SLIDE DECK

SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter:

Read @caltog's NEW policy brief: “School Closures and English Learners: A Review of COVID-19 Operations Written Reports”. What worked well, what was left out then—and how can schools do better in the upcoming school year? https://bit.ly/2DmwC4K

Facebook:

NEW! Policy Brief from @CaliforniansTogether: School Closures and English Learners: A Review of COVID-19 Operations Written Reports. How well did schools respond in the moment? What worked well, what was left out then—and how can schools do better in the upcoming school year? To help answer these questions, @CaliforniansTogether launched a collaborative review process of 79 California school districts’ COVID-19 Operations Written Reports. These documents offer a window into local districts’ thinking and can serve as a guide for future improvement. https://bit.ly/2DmwC4K

Filed Under: Blog, Home-Latest, PDF of Documents, Policy Briefs and Position Papers

Supporting English Learners in Learning Continuity Plans

August 27, 2020 by Californians Together

As school districts kick off the 2020-21 school year and address the challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, equity must be front and center. Equity in this context means that reopening plans consider the needs of the most vulnerable students and have explicit strategies and investments to ensure that opportunity and achievement gaps are not exacerbated. Given some of the gaps in access to education that have been documented from the spring closures, Californians Together recommends that districts ensure that the needs of English learners are addressed in their Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans. 

Districts have an opportunity to describe their plans for school reopenings and how they will address the needs of our most vulnerable students through the development of their Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans (LCPs), which must be adopted by September 30th. To ensure that the needs of English learners are addressed in their LCP, we encourage districts to provide a clear description and definition of the following factors. 

  1. Designated and Integrated instruction in English language development (ELD). Education Code 43503(b)(5) clearly states that distance learning shall include “Designated and integrated instruction in English language development pursuant to Section 11300 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations for English learners, including assessment of English language proficiency, support to access curriculum, the ability to reclassify as fully English proficient, and, as applicable, support for dual language learning.” LCPs must provide a clear description of how designated and integrated ELD instruction will be delivered within distance learning.
  2. Daily live interaction and synchronous learning time that all students will receive. Education Code 43503(a)(6) clearly states that distance learning shall include “Daily live interaction with certificated employees and peers for purposes of instruction, progress monitoring, and maintaining school connectedness.”  School districts should clearly define what daily live interaction will entail and incorporate expectations for synchronous learning, including the time and frequency expectations for every student, grade level, and the format. In addition, districts should describe any modifications for English learners, students with disabilities, homeless students, foster youth, and socio-economically disadvantaged students.
  3. Support that will be provided to parents and families. This support should be focused on opportunities to learn strategies to help enhance the education of their children at home. In addition, this should also include opportunities for authentic engagement that informs and has an impact on district and school decision-making. All of these support opportunities must be differentiated to ensure the engagement of families whose primary home language is other than English. 
  4. Social-Emotional Supports. Providing students with access to social-emotional supports is critical during this time of crisis. Moreover, districts should detail strategies to ensure that such supports are accessible to all students and that SEL is incorporated within instruction.
  5. Alignment and articulation between early childhood education and early elementary education, with supports for dual language learners and their multilingual families. The first five years are a critical window of opportunity for brain, language, and bilingual development. Therefore support for dual language learners and their multilingual families must start from the earliest years possible (i.e. infant/toddler programs, and preschool). Early childhood education should continue to be included within the planning process and aligned with elementary education so that students have a smooth transition into elementary education. This is of particular importance to dual language learners that can be supported in the development of both their home language and English language as early as possible.

To support districts in incorporating these factors within their LCP’s our EL RISE! Initiative (made possible with the support of an Educator Workforce Investment Grant [EWIG] to Californians Together from the California Department of Education) developed two tools aligned to the English Learner Roadmap. 

  • EL RISE! Reflection and Planning Tool for Administrators provides recommended actions organized by section of the EL Roadmap.
  • EL RISE! Learning Continuity Plans Opportunities for addressing English Learner Needs provides recommended actions organized by section of the LCP template. 

We encourage all districts, schools, teachers, and community members to review the recommendations in these resources and to continue to do what they can to close opportunity gaps for English learners. 

——————————————————————————————————————————-

For wide dissemination of the tools and the report, here are social media posts for each of the five factors:

Districts must ensure that time for integrated and designated English Language Development is provided within distance learning. @CalTog through EL RISE! has guidance to help districts develop their Learning Continuity Plans with English learners at heart. https://bit.ly/32Cwq9Y

Students deserve daily live instruction and interaction with teachers. For ELs, these interactions are integral to language development. @CalTog through EL RISE! has guidance to help districts develop their Learning Continuity Plans with ELs at heart. https://bit.ly/32Cwq9Y

During distance learning, families need help to support their children’s education at home. Supports must be available in families’ home languages. @CalTog through EL RISE! has guidance to help districts develop Learning Continuity Plans with ELs at heart. https://bit.ly/32Cwq9Y

Social-emotional supports are important for students during distance learning. These must be accessible to ELs and incorporated within instruction. @CalTog through EL RISE! has guidance to help districts develop Learning Continuity Plans with ELs at heart. https://bit.ly/32Cwq9Y

During distance learning, early childhood education for dual language learners must be incorporated. Articulation between ECE and elementary education is critical. @CalTog through EL RISE! has guidance to help districts develop Learning Continuity Plans. https://bit.ly/32Cwq9Y

Filed Under: Blog, Home-Latest Tagged With: Continuity Plans, EL RISE, English Learners, LCP

Engaging in Advocacy for the 2021 Mathematics Framework Revision

July 21, 2020 by Californians Together

California’s over 1.1 million English learners (ELs) deserve access to the full curriculum so that they are prepared for success in not just English language arts, but also in math, science, social studies, the arts, and all other subjects. It is all of these subjects combined that make learning relevant and support language development. 

Unfortunately, we know all too well that access to rigorous coursework is still lacking for many ELs. When looking at achievement in Math, only 12.6% of ELs met or exceeded math standards in 2019. It is for these reasons that Californians Together has partnered with Education Trust-West to lead an advocacy effort focused on informing the 2021 Mathematics Framework revision. 

Math Framework Timeline and Goals

The Mathematics Framework is currently being drafted by the Mathematics Curriculum Framework and Evaluation Criteria Committee (CFCC), which will continue meeting until December 2020. From then, the Framework will go to the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) in January 2021, for approval for an initial 60-day public review period. Moreover, thanks to the English learner roadmap and the new English Language Development (ELD) standards, California has an opportunity to better integrate strategies for ELs and ELD standards into teaching and learning in all subjects. This makes this the right time to engage in this process!

Central to this effort is to ensure that decision-makers hear from the perspectives of our diverse coalition partners in order to:

  • Uplift the need for equity to be a driving force in the framework development process, content, and implementation process (i.e. curriculum/instructional materials); and
  • Improve equitable access to standards-aligned, high-quality curriculum and instruction for English learners.

Our Progress

Over the past three months Californians Together and The Education Trust-West have been joined by ten other education organizations that signed on to one or both of the coalition letters for the May IQC Meeting and June Mathematics CFCC Meeting. In addition, during the June 24-25 Mathematics CFCC meeting, we were joined by six individuals in providing public comment in support of Equity and ELs. 

“Ed Trust-West is proud to be working in partnership with CalTog and many other organizations to ensure that California’s revised math framework is grounded in equity and provides a clear instructional, research-based blueprint for serving diverse learners. Educators throughout the state are looking for clear guidance on how to implement the math  standards in culturally relevant and engaging ways, including for students of color, students who are gaining proficiency in English, and those learning in multilingual settings. It is imperative that educators, advocates, students, and families, all have a voice in the framework revision process and we welcome additional organizations to join our coalition.” Rachel Ruffalo, Director of Educator Engagement at Education Trust-West 

Based on our review of the chapters discussed at the June meeting, it is clear that there is a need to ensure that examples and strategies discussed consider the needs of our diverse learners, including a clear integration of ELD standards and strategies within the Mathematics standards. However, we found much of the discussions of the committee promising as there was a focus on expanding cultural relevance and ensuring that the purpose of learning math was expanding to understanding our world and solving complex problems.

Looking Ahead: How To Help

As we look ahead to the remaining Math CFCC meetings, including the one coming up on August 5-6th, we need your help. 

You can help by doing one or all of the following:

  • Review draft chapters and provide feedback to be included in our coalition letter before each meeting.
  • Sign-on to our coalition letters or submit your own before each meeting.
  • Provide public comment during the Mathematics CFCC meetings that highlight our key messages.

If you are interested in supporting this effort or just want to stay updated, email Manuel Buenrostro at manuel@californianstogether.org.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: EL, ELD Standards, Framework, LTEL, Math, Mathematic Framework

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