CONTACT

Californians Together

Championing the Success of English Learners

The Latest

The May revision is out!

|

Greetings from Californians Together!

The May Revision is out and the marathon to meet the constitutional deadline of passing a budget by June 15th begins.The Governor’s 2023-24 proposed state budget includes a $306 billion spending plan, the budget’s shortall is greater than projected in January by $9.3 billion leaving the state with a $31.5 billion shortfall. Much like we saw in the January proposal, the May Revise includes budget shifts (that is shifting funding from one source to another), and  delayed implementation, revenue borrowing and/or reduction of funds to programs. It is clear that our budget problem is nowhere close to what we saw in 2009 given that years of cautions budgeting leading up to an economic downturn are reflected in the state’s reserves. The May Revision reflects $37.2 billion in total budgetary reserves which include: $22.3 billion in the Budget Stabilization Account, $10.7 billion in the Public School System Stabilization Account,  $450 million in the Safety Net Reserve and $3.8 billion in the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties. All of this to say, the Internal Revenue Service’s decision to delay 2023 tax filing deadlines adds an additional level of uncertainty given that we won’t have personal income tax numbers until then.

The May Revision includes a total of $127.7 billion for all K-12 education programs. We appreciate and applaud the Governor’s commitment to education, specifically the $20 million one-time appropriation for the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program which uses a “grow your own” approach to address the bilingual teacher shortage by allowing eligible local educational agencies to apply for state funds in order to provide professional learning opportunities to increase the number of bilingual authorized teachers.The Governor also keeps its January commitment to the $300 million ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund to establish an equity multiplier as an add-on to the LCFF to focus on closing opportunity gaps. We also appreciate the additional time for planning and implementation of the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program.

Read the full May revise here.

New Report from PACE Shines a Light on Newcomer Students

|

Newcomer is a term typically used to describe students who recently arrived in U.S. schools–but what recently means is not uniformly agreed upon. A new report from PACE, written by Californians Together Director of Newcomer Policy and Practice Sam Finn, highlights this as a fundamental challenge for policymakers and school leaders in supporting newcomer students. 

Districts Struggle to Educate Newcomers and Seek Support in Developing Effective Instructional Models

Terminology matters–and so does data. A lack of standardized terms contributes to a lack of data on these students. Newcomers are absent from publicly available state data and accountability systems. This means that the public, policymakers, community organizations, and those closest to students, cannot answer critical questions about how schools are serving the unique needs of newcomers. While newcomers do share some characteristics with the broader English learner population, it would be incorrect to lump their data together – but that’s exactly what is happening. Doing so obscures the specific challenges these students, who often experience interrupted education experiences and endure significant trauma, face when they arrive at school. 

Lack of Data Makes it Challenging for Newcomers to Be Seen By Practitioners, Policymakers, Researchers, and Publishers 

Fast facts about newcomers. A special data request to the California Department of Education enabled Sam to analyze 2020-2021 Title III, the only district-level data available for newcomers in California, data. Here are key findings: 

  • 1 in 40 California students is a newcomer
  • 1 in 8 English learners is a newcomer
  • More than half of the state’s newcomers are enrolled in school in five counties (Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Santa Clara, and Alameda)
  • 67% of newcomers are considered socially disadvantaged
  • While California’s broader English learner population primarily speaks Spanish (80%), less than half of newcomer students speak Spanish as their first language

This data is important for understanding the landscape of newcomer students in California, but more data is needed to answer questions about effective teaching and for providing appropriate wraparound services to this group of students. 

Meeting Newcomers’ Basic Needs Requires Social Services from Partner Organizations

Additionally, partnerships between districts and community organizations, including faith-based organizations and local nonprofits, represent opportunities to connect students and families to the wraparound services they need to require challenging circumstances. The report raises Oakland Unified as an example of a district that developed and implemented a data system to gain a nuanced understanding of student needs. The report also highlights statewide programs, such as CalNEW that partner with school staff to deliver relevant services to newcomers and their families. Growing district capacity to use data to identify and sustain such partnerships is crucial for ensuring that these promising practices, and others, can be implemented to meet these critical needs. 

For more promising practices and recommendations for state leaders, please read the full report. View the executive summary here. 

April is National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month 2023

|

The month of April is National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month, a time to recognize the needs and achievements of bilingual and multilingual learners. Advocates and education systems should consider how to support these students best and ensure that all students have the necessary tools to receive a great education, regardless of their native language or country of origin. This is also a time for recognizing the unique needs of diverse language learners.

From early learners to newcomers of any age, advocates, educators, and policymakers must develop and leverage the appropriate tools, including new data collection, for supporting English language development while also creating a culture of respect for home language. During this month, we can commit to advocating for these students and their families. As part of this process, success should be celebrated. The Seal of Biliteracy, for instance, symbolizes the assets and skills of these students and serves as an important reminder of the immense value of multilingualism.

In honor of National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month, here are some ways to get involved

  • Consider initiating and expanding biliteracy programs in your school/district
  • Creating Pathways to biliteracy beginning in Preschool
  • You can celebrate National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month by purchasing our
    Seal of Biliteracy Medallions and publications.
  • Learn more about English learners and how to renew your commitment to celebrating and advocating for bilingual and multilingual learners.
  • Share our #NBMLAdvocacy social media toolkit.
  • Consider initiating and expanding biliteracy programs in your school/district
  • Creating Pathways to biliteracy beginning in Preschool

Check out the resources below for more information on multilingualism, bilingual education, newcomers, and finding student data. Californians Together has also created a social media toolkit that you can use to share these resources.

Highlights from Governor Newsom’s Proposed 2023-24 State Budget

|

Greetings from Californians Together!

On Tuesday, January 10, Governor Newsom presented his proposed 2023-24 state budget that includes a $297 billion spending plan and an expected $22.5 billion shortfall. The overall budget theme was categorized by budget shifts (that is shifting funding from one source to another), and delayed implementation and/or reduction of programs. As a big picture, it included $7.1 billion in delayed spending, $2.6 billion in spending reductions, and $4.3 billion in budget shifts. As we had seen in previous budgets, many of the commitments were one-time spending so that in case of a budget shortfall like what is projected, these commitments could be reassessed. All of this to say, the May Revision will paint a clear picture of how much funding is to be allocated to specific programs and if there will be further cuts needed. 

We appreciate the Governor’s commitment to education, specifically the $300 million ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund to establish an equity multiplier as an add-on to the LCFF to focus on closing opportunity gaps. However, we are concerned that without a requirement to set goals to close achievement gaps within district plans, the funding will not have the desired impact. We applaud the continued dedication to the educator workforce and would highlight the need for targeted funding for bilingual teacher preparation programs. It is for this reason that Californians Together is exploring legislation that would require districts to set goals for closing opportunity gaps in their LCAPs and continue to support the reauthorization of the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program (BTPDP).

With a limited budget on the horizon, we will continue to fight for our English learners and ensure that budget cuts don’t widen the already existing academic and opportunity gaps. We will highlight the need to protect and expand proven approaches to educator professional learning, like the Educator Workforce Investment Grants. 

Click here to view our full highlights. 

Happy Holidays from Californians Together! ⛄

|

Christmas

This year has been filled with excitement and a deep commitment to supporting the needs of all English learners. We feel so grateful and inspired for your support and all of what we’ve accomplished and have had amazing opportunities in continuing our mission of championing the success of all English learners throughout California in 2022. Here are some of our accomplishments:

  • We partnered with 20 County Offices of Education across the state and served over 76% of California’s English learners. In total, EL RISE! served 547 Districts and organizations with 10,211 attendees from September 2021 through June 2022 and a total of 216 sessions were offered to administrators, teachers, counselors, school board members, parents, and community members through EL RISE!.

  • We sponsored AB 1868 (Rivas) Disaggregation of Data for Long-term English learners, which Governor Newsom signed and allowed for the implementation of two of the recommendations from this year’s LTEL publication, Renewing our Promise: Research and Recommendations to Support California’s Long Term English Learners. 

  • We published five volumes of the English Learner Roadmap Implementation Guide and Toolkit for Administrators, authored by Dr. Laurie Olsen, which is designed to support administrators as they take up the challenge of leading and supporting the implementation of the EL Roadmap.

  • We released an English Learners in the Central Valley policy brief and held three listening sessions in the Central Valley to launch the development of a policy agenda to centralize the research, policy, and practice resources, and influence and shape the public narrative to reflect the diversity and assets of English learners in K-12 through higher education, and diversify the representation of English learner advocates across the Central Valley and statewide.

  • We continued to build our advocacy network by convening our third English Learner Advocacy Institute as part of our ever-growing English Learner Leadership and Legacy Initiative (ELLLI) network. Sixty teachers, parents, professors, county office and district staff, and allied organization representatives spent 4 days learning the history and lessons from the English learner movement, about current issues, and how to be an effective advocate.

  • With the Center for Equity for English Learners at Loyola Marymount University, we published a fourth review of the Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs), Search for Equity for English Learners: A Review of 2021-24 Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs), documenting the lack of goals, actions and services to address the needs of English learners.

These accomplishments would not be possible without you and the support and collaboration of our coalition members and donors. On behalf of Californians Together we want to express our sincere appreciation for helping us focus our common efforts in seeking to overcome and transform the harms of systemic racial, language, and cultural inequity in education and closing opportunity gaps from early childhood through post-secondary education. As you celebrate these special times with the people you love, we wish to thank you for all of your continued support this past year and in years past. We look forward to building momentum from this year’s efforts in supporting all English learners in 2023!