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Championing the Success of English Learners

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Moving the EL Roadmap Forward

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The California English Learner Roadmap passed unanimously by the State Board of Education in 2017, and it marked a sea-change from previous state English learner policies. It is aspirational, principles-based, comprehensive, research-informed, and takes an assets-oriented approach toward students. From addressing every aspect of schooling that impacts English learners to embracing the language and cultures that students bring to the classroom—the roadmap represents a major break from the past.

To ensure such an aspirational policy can become a reality, the California legislature, in 2020, funded a $10 million in 3-year Educator Workforce Investment Grants for EL Roadmap Implementation. One of those grants was awarded to Californians Together for the EL RISE! (English Learner Roadmap Implementation for Systemic Excellence) partnership.

The reports and videos presented here summarize key findings from the three-year statewide capacity-building effort, share conclusions about what it will take at all levels (state, county office, local district, school sites, and classrooms) to meaningfully implement the EL Roadmap, and offer recommendations for continuing work to give life to the promise of the California EL Roadmap policy.

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Moving the California English Learner Roadmap Forward: Lessons Learned From EL RISE!

This report summarizes key findings from the three-year statewide capacity-building effort, shares conclusions about what it will take at all levels (state, county office, local district, school sites, and classrooms) to meaningfully implement the EL Roadmap, and offers recommendations for continuing work to give life to the promise of the California EL Roadmap policy.

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Bright Spots: Five Districts Move the English Learner Roadmap Forward

This Bright Spots publication is comprised of selected examples that illustrate what it looks like to implement the English Learner Roadmap from TK to 12 at a district level. Although the contexts and journeys of these dive districts differ, this publication highlights visionary leadership, investments in professional learning and capacity building, and the development of district-level systems for coherence and sustainability, as common threads.

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Moving the California English Learner Roadmap Forward: The Pivotal Role of County Offices of Education

This publication tells the story of one of the Sacramento County Office of Education, and its three-year journey that would deepen understanding and ownership for addressing and embracing English learners throughout the departments and functions of the COE.

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Watch

Moving the EL Roadmap Forward – 3 minute version

Moving the EL Roadmap Forward: Vision and Principles

Azusa Unified: Moving the EL Roadmap Forward

Moving the EL Roadmap Forward at the District Level

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A New Webinar Series Engages Experts to Explore Best Practices for Supporting Newcomer Students

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Newcomers are a distinct student group characterized by their recent arrival to schools in the United States. This group can include refugees, asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors, and migratory students. There is no shared definition of what a newcomer student is, which is just one of the challenges that school systems face in meeting their unique needs. Beyond definition and data uncertainty, the field does not always get the chance to hear from those who are doing the work to help newcomers thrive. This is why we are so proud to take part in launching the California Newcomer Education & Wellbeing Webinar series. 

Join expert practitioners and researchers for rich conversations and knowledge sharing on emerging best practices and resources for supporting newcomer education. The webinars are a project of the California Newcomer Education and Wellbeing Program, an ongoing initiative administered by the the California Department of Social Services in collaboration with the California Department of Education. Californians Together is engaged in webinar planning and technical assistance. Can’t make one of these sessions? Worry not–each webinar will be recorded and hosted on the California Newcomer Network website.

On this Zoom registration page, please fill out your basic contact information and check the boxes for each webinar you would like to register for. Invitations will be sent out on a weekly basis.

View the schedule below and explore these links to learn more about our expert panelists and the important work they are doing to meet the health, wellbeing, and academic needs of newcomer students.  Presentations will be facilitated by Californians Together Director of Newcomer Policy and Practice Sam Finn. 

Instructional Paradigms & Strategies for Newcomers

November 2nd, 2023, 3:30-4:30 PST

Newcomer pedagogy experts share their approaches to creating a responsive classroom environment, supporting the earliest stages of literacy and oracy, and leveraging technology to enable student language access.

Community Collaboration & Social Services for Newcomers.

December 7th, 2023, 3:30-4:30 PST

Social sector leaders share strategies for districts to collaborate with community-based organizations to support newcomer students. 

Newcomer Organizations Leading the Way

January 11th, 2024, 3:30-4:30 PST

Leaders from two newcomer education nonprofits share and discuss their models for creating schools where newcomers students can thrive. 

Writing & Research on Newcomer Education

March 7th, 2024, 3:30-4:30 PST 

Leading researchers discuss recent work exploring the school climate that newcomers experience, best practices in newcomer education, and the history of newcomer education in the United States.

Past Webinars

Resources & Lessons for Districts Serving Newcomers

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter or follow Californians Together on social media to stay up to date on more announcements and information about this work.

Teacher Preparation and California’s Early Childhood Education Workforce

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The following is an excerpt from “Revisiting California’s Expanding Bilingual Teacher Shortage: Addressing Immediate Shortfalls in Early Childhood Education”, the first installment of a comprehensive six-part series on a multitude of considerations for supporting Dual Language Learners in California.

 

As the state advances towards its language proficiency targets, it is grappling with an escalating demand for bilingual educators, particularly in early childhood education (ECE). In California, roughly 60% of children aged 0 to 5 reside in homes where languages other than English are spoken. These young learners, commonly referred to as dual language learners (DLLs), hold the potential to become fluent in multiple languages. Research underscores the significant benefits of supporting biliteracy development in early childhood programs, including enhanced cognitive development, improved language proficiency, and increased academic achievement. To ensure that DLLs receive the highest quality education and to help California realize its linguistic objectives, there is an urgent need to recruit, prepare, and retain a substantial cadre of highly qualified bilingual educators ready to teach in transitional kindergarten (TK) and other early childhood settings.

In 2021, California made historic changes to its early learning system by committing to universal preschool for all 4-year-olds by 2025–26. This commitment encompasses various early learning initiatives, including transitional kindergarten (TK), the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head Start, community based providers, and expanded learning opportunities. Among these programs, TK stands out as the only preschool program that is both tuition-free and universally accessible within the state’s public education system. Administered by local education agencies (LEAs), TK currently serves all 4-year-olds who reach the age of 5 between September 2 and April  2, with plans for further expansion to encompass all 4-year-olds by 2025-26.

A recent publication from the Learning Policy Institute estimated that in the academic year 2025–26, more than 300,000 children in California are likely to enroll in TK programs (Melnick, García, & Leung-Gagné, 2022). In this report, they projected that, in order to accommodate this burgeoning demand, school districts will need to hire between 11,900 and 15,600 additional lead teachers by the 2025–26 academic year. The realization of this potential, however, is intricately linked to the availability of well-prepared bilingual early childhood education teachers. Alarmingly, during the 2020-21 school year, just 1,116 teachers received their bilingual authorization in K-12 education (California Department of Education, 2023). While there are presently no available data sources that delineate how many of these teachers intend to work in early childhood classrooms, the urgent need to address the bilingual TK teacher shortage is abundantly clear.

 

References

Melnick, H., García, E., & Leung-Gagné, M. (2022). Building a well-qualified transitional kindergarten workforce in California: Needs and opportunities. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/826.674

Long-Term English Learners to Get Renewed Attention in LCAPs

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Supporting all English learners (ELs) to achieve their highest potential has been a work in progress for California’s public school system. There is much to celebrate over the past decade. We have seen more and more high school graduates attain the State Seal of Biliteracy (57,561 recipients in 2021-22) with half of these recipients being current or former ELs.  Our public schools also reclassify nearly two in three (65 percent in 2022-23) of ever-ELs (EL and RFEP students combined) by ninth grade. 

 

The Need to Focus on Long-Term English Learners

Despite this progress, more work needs to be done to ensure success for all ELs. There are still many ELs who have remained in that status for six or more years with the system not being able to help them make progress towards English language proficiency. These students are long-term English learners (LTELs) and still make up nearly half of all ELs in the secondary grades (grades 6-12). This is why the continued focus on LTELs is so critical. 

 

Progress from 2010 to 2020

Since the publication of Reparable Harm ringed the alarm bells in 2010, much progress has been made in California. From creating a state definition for LTELs in 2012 (AB 2193), to mandating reporting of their enrollment in LEAs in 2016 (SB 750), and more recently passing legislation in 2022 (AB 1868) to ensure that  data on LTEL achievement and disability status is publicly reported, there has been consistent progress. This progress was highlighted in our 2021 publication, Renewing Our Promise, which further shined a light on the steady but slow progress that California had made in lowering the number and proportion of LTELs from 2014 to 2020. 

 

Renewed Urgency Since the Pandemic

However, that progress has taken a hit since the pandemic. For example, in 2023-23, California enrolled 226,535 LTELs, making up 49 percent of secondary ELs. These numbers signify a significant increase in the number and proportion of LTELs since the 2019-20 school year when 204,042 LTELs were enrolled in California public schools, making up 46 percent of secondary ELs. This is a significant increase of over 22,000 LTELs. 

 

The Opportunity: Changes Coming to the LCAP 

With this urgency, there are significant changes that will be coming to the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) templates that can support LEAs in revisiting investments, strategies, and goals for meeting the needs of LTELs. These include changes mandated in the 2023 Budget Trailer Bill (SB 114) making LTELs a numerically significant student group to which LEAs must develop and describe specific actions to meet their needs. With the State Board of Education poised to adopt these and other updates to the LCAP at their November 2023 meeting, we hope that LEAs learn from best practices and continue to set goals for meeting the needs of LTELs. 

 

Call to Action

There are examples of promising practices in Renewing Our Promise including a call to action to meet the goal that by the year 2030 California will reduce by half the percentage of ELs in grades 6-12 who are LTELs. This means ensuring that by 2030 less than one in four ELs in secondary gradea are LTELs. We look forward to seeing how LEAs write strategies to meet the needs of LTELs in their LCAPs and learning about the further expansion and implementation of promising practices so that we continue to build a system where no EL is left behind. Californians Together will continue to monitor these updates at the upcoming November SBE meeting and look forward to sharing additional information and guidance after the final template is adopted. 

 

Resources: 

Citations:

  1.  California Department of Education. 2021-22 Participating Current and Former English Learners. Downloaded August 30, 2023 from https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/sealofbiliteracy.asp
  2.  California Department of Education, DataQuest. 2022-23 “At-Risk” and Long-Term English Learners (LTEL) by Grade. Downloaded August 30, 2023 from https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/longtermel/EverElType.aspx?cds=00&agglevel=State&year=2022-23  

Advocates Testify Before CPAG Committee on the Revised LCAP Template and Performance Rubrics for the EL Progress Indicator

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On August 25, 2023 twelve Californians Together advocates testified before the California Practitioners Advisory Committee (CPAG) which advises the State Board on issues of accountability. Two items were on the agenda that we addressed: The revised LCAP template and the new performance rubrics for the English Learner Progress Indicator. Below is the testimony from two of our advocates that influenced the members of CPAG:

Good afternoon, My name is Corina Sapien and I am the Director of Family & Community Engagement in Morgan Hill Unified School District. I am here today representing Californians Together.

Thank you for the genuine efforts to address achievement and equity gaps for our English Learner and especially our LTEL students.

I am here to call your attention to an incongruence in the language on one of the items in the draft. On p. 30/31 Bullet 2 refers to “required metrics” for LEAs to monitor the effectiveness of identified actions, but bullet 1 states that LEAs are only “encouraged to identify metrics for specific student groups, as appropriate, including expected outcomes that address and reduce disparities in outcomes between student groups.”

In order for the two statements to be congruent, we recommend the wording in Bullet 1 be changed from “encouraged to identify” to “shall identify” so that it reads, “LEAs shall identify metrics for students groups,” which will then match with the second bullet that “requires” metrics be identified.

In these new LCAP requirements it is clear that the legislature emphasized the need to close gaps and disparities. The intent is not well represented with just encouragement and should require metrics to meet this important intent.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful consideration of this item.

Corina Sapien
ELLLI Advocate

 

Hello. Sally Fox, CABE recommends CPAG support maintenance of the “traditional” 5x5 performance matrix in lieu of changing to the so-called “balanced” matrix. The alternative “balanced” proposal would redefine cells where the school or LEA experienced a significant decline from year to year. Of particular concern is the cell where a school or LEA has a status of “Low” and “Significantly Declined” because such a performance or change shows the need for stronger focus on EL progress, which would be required under a traditional 5x5 matrix. Reclassifying this cell from red to orange would exempt the school/LEA from addressing this indicator in its LCAP. In fact, only 77 districts would be designated red with the “balanced” matrix - not even two districts per county. It is important to keep LEAs accountable with high expectations. Favor de aprobar la matriz “tradicional.” Please approve the traditional matrix.

Sally Fox
Education Policy Analyst
California Association for Bilingual Education            

Shared Statement on the Adoption of the 2023 Mathematics Framework

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Shared Statement
Adoption of the 2023 Mathematics Framework: An Important Milestone

 

Today we celebrate the State Board of Education’s adoption of the 2023 Mathematics Framework for California public schools. For over three years, our organizations have been collaborating to ensure that this update to the Math Framework includes principles of equity, is asset-based and culturally and linguistically responsive, and meets the needs of all of California’s  students, including English learners. We are pleased to see many of these priorities reflected in the final version. 

However, as we celebrate this achievement, we must also acknowledge that there is critical work ahead to ensure that the robust vision of the Framework becomes reality. Instructional frameworks at their essence are just guidance. Therefore, it is up to state, county, district, and school leaders to ensure that the guidance in the Framework is implemented well, and that educators receive the professional learning and support they need to provide access and equity for all students. In particular, we hope that the passage of the Math Framework provides the California Department of Education and local education agencies (LEAs) with the opportunity to:

  1. Review and adopt policies and practices (including those related to course placement, instructional materials adoptions, student support structures, educator professional learning & supports, and family engagement) to ensure equitable access to rigorous coursework for all students, especially those who have been furthest from opportunity,

  2.  Ensure that educators are prepared and supported to make rigorous math content accessible to all students, including in the delivery of integrated English Language Development  (ELD) across the content, and

  3.  Ensure that the state and LEA adoption process for math instructional materials is robust, aligned with the Framework, and delivers the high-quality instructional materials that our students deserve.

As we celebrate the adoption of the 2023 Math Framework, our organizations also renew our commitment to continue to collaborate and support the field to ensure that the principles of equity throughout the Framework become reality in all of California’s school districts. 

Over the next two years, our organizations will work collectively as the California High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) Coalition and Learning Partners to ensure that California’s list of approved instructional materials for TK-8 are high-quality, aligned to mathematics and English language development standards, center strategies and supports for multilingual learners, and are culturally and linguistically relevant for all of California’s diverse students. We will also create and disseminate resources to support schools and districts to evaluate, adopt, and effectively implement high-quality instructional materials in mathematics that align with the new Math Framework. 

Californians Together
California Partnership for Math & Science Education
English Learners Success Forum
Loyola Marymount Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL)
Partnership for Los Angeles Schools
The Education Trust—West
UnboundEd