As we navigate these uncertain times, SEAL remains steadfast in our commitment to serving our English Learner/Dual Language Learner students along with their teachers, families, and school communities. SEAL is working to adapt our programs, resources, and services to online formats and distance learning contexts to support our partners and school communities across the state. […]
Everyone is feeling the impact of COVID-19 as the country grinds through yet another month of abnormalcy, with low-income and communities of color bearing the brunt the most.
Working families of color are carrying a particularly heavy load—juggling work and child care responsibilities while gauging the extra risks of sending their kids back to early learning and care (ELC) settings.
Data show the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, especially Black, Latinx, Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander, and low-income populations—many of whom are linguistically diverse families. Their children, a great number of whom are dual language learners (DLLs), are inevitably suffering as their families work on the frontlines as essential workers, risking exposure to COVID-19 while trying to balance competing demands.
This is a special challenge for California, home to the nation’s largest population of DLLs: young children who are developing proficiency in both their home language and English. This group makes up nearly 60 percent of California’s children under the age of 6. It is clear that without ensuring access to early learning and care designed for DLL children and families, the state is not meeting the basic needs of all children.
With the profound financial impact of COVID-19, California now faces a $54.3 billion budget deficit for 2020 and 2021. The needs of the early childhood field are more dire than ever, and support for DLL children and families must be urgently addressed. We cannot allow the state’s health, economic, and fiscal crises derail our state’s commitment to equitable ELC for DLLs.
As COVID-19 continues to exacerbate existing inequities to children’s full access and participation in high-quality ELC, in the immediate term, we recommend that state leaders:
This blog is a part of a blog series in collaboration with Advancement Project California, Early Edge California, and the Sobrato Early Academic Language. For more information on our policy recommendations to address DLL children and families’ needs during COVID-19 and beyond, please click here: COVID-19 Rapid Response: Urgent Needs of Dual Language Learner Children and Families (APCA Link/EECA Link).
September 21, 2020
As data on the pandemic continue to roll in, it’s clear that the pandemic’s burdens are not shared equally. It is increasingly evident that California’s families of color–the state’s linguistically and culturally diverse communities–have been among the state’s hardest hit.
Many families of color who work in frontline service sectors like health care or food services are at an exceptionally high risk of exposure to the virus. Their children, many of whom are dual language learners (DLLs), continue to experience stress and anxiety as their families work as essential workers risking exposure to COVID-19. Families speaking languages other than English at home were more likely to report food insecurity concerns. What’s more, there is evidence that the state’s DLLs are likely to face digital divides—that is, lack of access to the learning technologies required for distance learning. As a result, polls suggest that many DLLs could not reliably access schools’ online learning offerings, and—even when they accessed them—were not adequately supported.
California must do better. Over half of the state’s young children speak a language other than English at home. In too many instances, the pandemic has disrupted their access to Early Learning and Care programs and exacerbated existing opportunity gaps for them and their families. California’s future depends on these students’ success, and that begins with a strong developmental foundation in the early years.
State and local leaders must invest in an Early Learning and Care system that supports DLLs and their families’ needs with distance and/or hybrid learning. Here are a few ideas:
As we respond to our current state of emergency, we must bring DLL children to the center of our policy conversations around the digital divide and distance/hybrid learning. We must not miss the critical window of opportunity that the early years bring for brain and language development and set children on the path to success. As the largest proportion of California’s young child population, DLLs, in many ways, are the future drivers of the state’s economic and social well-being. Their future is our future. This blog is a part of a blog series in collaboration with Advancement Project California, Early Edge California, and the Sobrato Early Academic Language. For more information on our policy recommendations to address DLL children and families’ needs during COVID-19 and beyond, please click here: APCA/EECA.