Van Ou

Need Comments on Proposed Prop. 58 Regulations

September 7, 2017 by Van Ou

Comments Needed Today on Proposed Prop. 58 Regulations

Dear Colleagues, There is much interest and excitement about the opportunities for expanded program options leading to multilingualism for all of California’s students. The Title V Proposition 58 – CA Ed. G. E. Regulations need to capture the intent and language of the Proposition to facilitate implementation. We need everyone to click here to view, download, sign, scan and email your comments into the California Department of Education asking for additional clarity and direction in the regulations before they are adopted by the State Board of Education. The email should be sent to: Patricia Alverson, Regulations Coordinator, palverson@cde.ca.gov

The comments must be received by September 11, 2017 not later them 5:00 pm. Only if many comments are submitted will the State Board of Education consider modifying these draft regulations. Click, download, sign, scan and email this letter today.

Final Individual Input on Title V Regs – DE

California State Board of Education Adopts An English Learner Roadmap: From English Only to Bilingualism and Biliteracy

July 13, 2017 by Van Ou

LONG BEACH: On July 12, 2017 the California State Board of Education unanimously adopted new policy for educating California’s 1.3 million English Learners (ELs) by approving an English Learner Roadmap. As stated in the approved Board Item,

“This policy is intended to assist the California Department of Education in providing guidance to local educational agencies (LEAs) in welcoming, understanding, and educating the diverse population of students who are English Learners attending California public schools. Many English Learners represent the newest members of our society (including recently arrived immigrants and children of immigrants) who bring a rich diversity of cultural backgrounds and come from families with rich social and linguistic experiences. They also bring skills in their primary languages that contribute enormously to the state’s economic and social strengths as a talented multilingual and multicultural population.”

Every Student Succeeds Act: A Vision to Address the Needs of California’s Youngest Learners

July 11, 2017 by Van Ou

In 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s K-12 education law. ESSA includes several policy changes, including funding preschool and optimizing children’s developmental and academic trajectories by supporting the alignment of early learning programs and the K-12 system.

The purpose of this brief is to provide policy recommendations for the ESSA State Plan that addresses the needs of our youngest learners.

Bilingual Teacher Shortage Requires Immediate Action: Study Shows That Bilingual Teachers Exist, But They Require Professional Development

July 10, 2017 by Van Ou

LONG BEACH, Ca — July 11, 2017 – A new report released by Californians Together shows that many school districts across the state are currently facing a growing bilingual teacher shortage, and that in the near term, there is a pool of at least 7,000 bilingual teachers who are well positioned to begin to address this shortage, and need to be supported with professional development. [Read more…] about Bilingual Teacher Shortage Requires Immediate Action: Study Shows That Bilingual Teachers Exist, But They Require Professional Development

Santa Clara County Office of Education Honored with the Prestigious Multiple Pathways to Biliteracy Award

March 28, 2017 by Van Ou

Anaheim – The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) has been selected as the first county office of education to receive the Multiple Pathways to Biliteracy Recognition Award. The Californians Together award celebrates the SCCOE for leading the way to world-class language education in preschool through 12th grade. The county team led by Superintendent Jon R. Gundry will receive this award at the 42nd annual conference of the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) on March 31 in Anaheim.
[Read more…] about Santa Clara County Office of Education Honored with the Prestigious Multiple Pathways to Biliteracy Award

Tell the State Board of Education No to Decreasing Transparency and Accountability for English Learners’ Academic Performance

December 28, 2016 by Van Ou

Voice your opposition to including, as a component of the English Learner LCFF academic indicator, data on Redesignated Fluent English Proficient students (RFEPs)!! This proposal requires the inclusion of 4 years of RFEP students scores with the scores of the current EL students. The data will be aggregated to determine the EL academic performance level (color coding from red, orange, yellow, green and blue indicate the level – red being the lowest and blue the highest). The accuracy and transparency of how these two groups of students are performing in Language Arts and Math will be invisible if they are combined as proposed.

Letters to Dr. Kirst, President of the State Board of Education expressing your opposition need to be emailed to him now!!

Click on the link below to send the letter. Please personalize the letter by filling in the blanks and adding any text that you feel is helpful !!

After you click on the link to the letter, copy and paste it into a new email and send to sbe@cde.ca.gov

If you are able to attend the meeting email Shelly Spiegel-Coleman at Shelly@californianstogether.org

The State Board of Education will take a final vote on this issue during the January 11, 2017 Board Meeting.

The letter must be emailed no later than 12 noon on Friday, January 6, 2017!!

Tell the State Board of Education to Hold Schools and Districts Accountability for English Learners’ Academic Performance