Californians Together

California is home to more than 1 million English learner students, yet their voices are often missing from conversations about the policies and programs that directly affect them.

In this thoughtful commentary, student board member David Ramirez reflects on the barriers multilingual learners face when it comes to participating in leadership and decision-making spaces—from language insecurity to limited access to opportunities for representation.

As California continues to advance efforts like the English Learner Roadmap and expand recognition of multilingualism through initiatives such as the State Seal of Biliteracy, we must also ensure that English learner students have a seat at the table.

After all, meaningful student voice should include the students most impacted by educational decisions.

What would it look like for schools and districts to more intentionally create opportunities for multilingual learners to help shape policies and programs?

COMMENTARY: English learners should be in the room when policies are being shaped, but they rarely are English learners make up 17% of California students, but few are comfortable enough to show up when decisions that affect them are under discussion. Districts should change that.

What do many of California's fastest-improving school districts have in common?

According to Education Scorecard, 11 California districts were identified as "On the Rise" for making large gains in reading and math relative to their peers.

Nine of those districts offer dual language or dual language immersion programs.

📍 Berkeley Unified
📍 Compton Unified
📍 Delano Union Elementary
📍 Kings Canyon Joint Unified
📍 Little Lake City Elementary
📍 Ontario-Montclair
📍 Orange Unified
📍 Oxnard School District
📍 Sanger Unified

An interesting reminder that investing in multilingualism and academic excellence can go hand in hand.

Source: Education Scorecard, a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University and faculty at Dartmouth College

Earlier this month, Martha Hernandez and Shelly Spiegel-Coleman attended the Families In Schools Gala in Hollywood, where they had the opportunity to connect with Hedy Chang, founder, president, and CEO of Attendance Works, along with Californians Together Board Member Ajay Lucas.

We're grateful for opportunities to come together with leaders and advocates who are working to strengthen outcomes for students and families. Partnerships and shared commitment continue to be essential in advancing educational equity and opportunity for all learners.

"Students are more than their test scores, and OPTEL enables school systems to take into account how students actually use language."

The Observation Protocol for Teacher of (OPTEL) is a valuable tool for formative assessment, but we found that teachers and administrators are also thinking of it as a conversation starter between schools and families.

From providing helpful context for reclassification decisions to informing instructional practices, our new blog series explores educator perceptions of OPTEL's potential for supporting students.

Read more:

Beyond Testing: OPTEL as the Basis for Critically Important Conversations - Californians Together OPTEL is typically thought of as a tool for formative assessment as students progress toward English proficiency, reclassification, and monitoring RFEPs four years after reclassification, but educators see a use beyond evaluation. Through conversations with teachers and administrators, we aim to dra...

Did you miss our webinar with CABTE where we discussed clear recommendations for ensuring California can build a educator pipeline that serves the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students? You can catch up on the conversation, or relive the best moments, by watching the recording.

Watch now:

Toward 2030: A Grounded Call for Action to Strengthen California's Bilingual Teacher Pipeline Join us for an upcoming webinar marking the release of Toward 2030: A Grounded Call for Action to Strengthen California's Bilingual Teacher PipelineThis new ...

The 805 EL Advocates regional network gathered on June 4 to celebrate a year of connection, collaboration, and advocacy for multilingual learners.

The event brought together leaders and advocates representing Hueneme School District, Adelante in Santa Barbara, Rio School District, Ventura County Office of Education, SEAL, and the English Learner Leadership & Legacy Initiative Steering Committee. Together, they continue to strengthen regional partnerships and advance opportunities for multilingual learners and their families.

Thank you to everyone who helps make this network such a powerful force for change and support throughout the region.

Did you know that, despite making up 45% of all high school students, only 14% of those who earn the California State Seal of Biliteracy are English learners? This dire statistic reflects a need for California to increase access to rigorous coursework and high quality instructional materials.

Failure to leverage the assets that English learners bring to the classroom each day means that California cannot meet its ambitious language goals.

Our latest brief digs deep to explore the State Seal of Biliteracy landscape, asks critical questions about access, and provides clear recommendations for ensuring more English learners can earn the award.

Read more: https://buff.ly/H291LU5

COMMENTARY: Supporting multilingual learners means supporting their teachers The state has laid out a vision for supporting students through the English Learner Roadmap but too many teachers are left without enough training or support to turn this policy into practice.