With the news of school closures until the end of the school year, we have heard that there is an increased need for you and your colleagues to connect and learn from each other, share resources and provide the emotional and professional support to meet the demands of equitable access and EL appropriate instruction through distance learning, materials or one-on-one outreach with your English Learners.
Over the course of two months (from April to May 2020), Californians Together asked over 650 teachers and administrators to provide details about their schools’ distance learning plans, focusing particularly on how they served English learners (ELs). This survey reveals the limits of that patchwork response to the emergency — and indicates key lessons for schools’ reopening this fall. See survey results.
We at Californians Together have witnessed through various hosted Zoom webinars and meetings the need for people to be connected and wanting to share and learn from each other. With that in mind, we offered various opportunities to uplift each other and at the same time make a difference for our students.
This was a collaborative discussion about centering English learners in school reopening planning. Currently, local school districts are pivoting to planning for the upcoming school year. During this session, examples were shared of how educators can ensure that reopening conversations and plans are equity-focused and prioritize the needs of English learners. Attendees will learn from lessons gathered and information shared through our Communities of Practice series and educator survey and from educators engaged in reopening planning conversations in their schools and districts. Breakout sessions also provided all attendees with an opportunity to share how they are continuing the focus on serving English learners in their own context.
Here is the video recording of the meeting.
All the resources shared during the call can be found on this page.
This session will provided school, district, and community leaders the opportunity to share best practices, resources, and lessons learned for coordinating successful DELAC and ELAC Committee Meetings in virtual settings. A space was created for participants to engage in a small group breakout session to share local practices, ask questions, and identify needs to facilitate the active engagement of parents and families when schools are closed.
Here is the video recording of the meeting.
All the resources shared during the call can be found on this page.
This session provided teachers, administrators, specialists, and support staff the opportunity to share best practices, resources and challenges and the work they are doing to support immigrant and refugee students under COVID-19 and beyond. A space was created for participants to engage in a small group breakout session to share local practices, ask questions and identify needs to support this population moving forward.
Here is the video recording of the meeting.
All the resources shared during the call can be found on this page.
This was a collaborative discussion about implementing Asian languages bilingual instruction through distance learning. Classroom teachers shared how they are able to continue their bilingual instruction through their distance learning experiences. A space was created for teachers to share in a facilitated breakout session.
Here is the video recording of the meeting.
All the resources shared during the call can be found on this page.
This was a collaborative discussion about implementing Spanish bilingual instruction through distance learning. Classroom teachers shared how they are able to continue bilingual instruction through their distance learning experiences. A space was created for teachers to share in a facilitated breakout session.
Here is the video recording of the meeting.
All the resources shared during the call can be found on this page.
Content area teachers will share how they are able to include integrated ELD through their distance learning experiences. A space will be created for secondary teachers to share by content area.
Here is the video recording of the meeting.
All the resources shared during the call can be found on this page.
This zoom meeting covered examples of teachers implementing designated ELD lessons and instruction and how they outreach to their students to engage in language development through distance learning. A space was created for secondary teachers to share by grade spans.
Resources from the call: video recording of the meeting, slide deck, a summary of resources, comments and questions shared by participants and a compilation of our wishes.
This zoom meeting covered examples of teachers implementing integrated and designated English language development through distance learning and create a space for elementary school teachers to connect and learn from each other by grade-spans.
Resources from the call: video recording, slide deck, summary of resources, comments and questions shared by participants and a compilation of our wishes.
To further support district, school, and community leaders, we also developed the following four considerations to ensure that ELs continue to have full access to the curriculum (Supporting English Learners Through Distance Learning: Considerations for District and School Leaders). The list and examples are not exhaustive but are meant to help informally assess and guide a conversation about how distance learning is being implemented in your district, school, and community.
Spanish and Korean Dual Immersion Instruction Through Distance Learning: Anaheim Elementary School District
While most districts are struggling to address the needs of English Learners through distance learning, Anaheim Elementary School District (AESD) has kept their focus on bilingualism, biliteracy and English Learners while planning for distance learning during school closures. Read more.
Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Students: Considerations for School Leaders in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
With the ending of the school year and the uncertainty about the reopening in the fall, now is the time to develop plans to address the needs of immigrant and refugee students and their families with focused and sensitive attention. Below are three guiding principles for school and district leaders to consider to ensure that immigrant and refugee students and their families receive support and equitable access to educational opportunities during this unprecedented time. Read more.
Californians Together launched the Alas y Voz campaign on social media to increase awareness about the benefits of biliteracy and bilingual programs among parents of Spanish speaking English learners to encourage them to enroll their children in bilingual programs.
However, given the rise of the COVID-19 crisis, we have changed the focus of Alas y Voz in order to share resources with parents and to support their children’s learning at home during this time. We are carefully selecting what we share so that it is accessible to parents and from reliable sources.
Our hope is that you will be able to share the resources with your parents, through your social media, your newsletters, or by including them in your websites.
You will be able to find the resources in a few ways.
We have added a section atop our Alas y Voz website that will take you to these compilations, which we will be updating regularly.
We have sent out a compilation of the first round of these resources through our Alas y Voz newsletter (in Spanish) earlier this week.
We will continue updating the resources on the Alas y Voz website.
If you come across any resources that you think we can share, please contact claudia@californianstogether.org.
¡Gracias!
STAND AGAINST RACISM
Often when there is a national or state crisis, the best in our community come together for support and healing. But too often the worst in our communities, the state and the nation look to blame others, and bigotry and racism raise their ugly heads. During this coronavirus health crisis, members of our Asian Pacific Islander community are being assaulted, harassed and subject to demeaning and hurtful verbal attacks. The President, himself, continues to call COVID-19 the Chinese virus.
Often when there is a national or state crisis, the best in our community come together for support and healing. But too often the worst in our communities, the state and the nation look to blame others, and bigotry and racism raise their ugly heads. During this coronavirus health crisis, members of our Asian Pacific Islander community are being assaulted, harassed and subject to demeaning and hurtful verbal attacks. The President, himself, continues to call COVID-19 the Chinese virus.
Our children and their parents have enough to handle with the loss of jobs, childcare, minimal health care options and school. We, as Californians Together, stand together against this racism and bigotry and ask that each of us reach out to members and friends in the API community to share their pain and uplift their spirits. If you see or hear any incidents, speak out.
Below is a letter the API Legislative Caucus sent to the Governor about the fear and incidents in their communities and a response by Governor Newsom which he delivered at one of his press conferences asking us to be better.
Share this information with your networks as we come together with members of the API community as colleagues, friends, family and voices for respect, love and decency. We've included a downloadable graphic at the end of this email for you to share.
Letter to and Response from Governor Newsom:
On Tuesday, March 17th, our caucus issued a letter to Governor Newsom to share concerns about the discriminatory acts targeting Asian Americans due to the fears of COVID-19. We asked him to join us in condemning these acts and recommended that relevant state agencies create guidelines and share information to prevent discrimination, harassment and bullying.
On Thursday, March 19th, Governor Newsom addressed these concerns during his press conference by strongly denouncing the rise of xenophobia and hate crimes against Asian Americans. We applaud his statement and his commitment to enforcing hate crimes.
Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center:
The API Legislative Caucus joined Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action and San Francisco State University Asian American Studies Department to launch the "Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center" to collect and track incidents of anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander hate, violence and discrimination in California and throughout the country. These incidents will help inform future policy discussions. We encourage individuals to share their stories at www.a3pcon.org/stopaapihate
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