Dear Colleagues,

Last month I had the opportunity to participate in two important discussions about school transformation and high-quality learning environments for all students, but especially for our English Learners/Dual Language Learners (ELs/DLLs) and students of color. These conversations were anchored in research and best practices, but more importantly, they lift up the stories of educators who are doing incredible work in classrooms across California and the nation.

On November 2, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel at the Fall 2022 Birth to Twelve Grade Water Cooler Conference focused on centering equity K12 systems. In California, we have what many would describe as an equity-driven educational policy context, with LCFF at the core. But is LCFF advancing equity as intended? A recent report authored by Californians Together and the Center for Equity for English Learners titled, “In Search of Equity for English Learners: A Review of Local Control and Accountability Plans”, found that as we approach ten-year mark of LCFF, “… the search for equity continues to mirror the search for ‘a needle in a haystack’”.

I opened the panel discussion with this framing and asked each participant – what does it mean to center equity and belonging in our K12 systems? It was a robust conversation that spanned the local and state policy, practice, and legislative levels. At SEAL, we believe one of the key aspects of belonging and equity is teacher agency– the idea that teachers need to feel engaged, empowered, and at the helm of equity-focused teaching and learning.

Likewise, I was also able to participate in a dynamic conversation co-hosted by The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and New America on November 30 titled, “Play + Academics + Relationships: Teaching in Ways Kindergarteners Learn Best”. It was refreshing that this panel discussion was framed in a robust manner, resisting the strong tendency to be reductive within these kinds of conversations, especially given all our fears about learning loss and pandemic recovery. The three essential elements of quality Kindergarten I uplifted were– 1) deep engagement, 2) language development across all content, and 3) the necessity of culturally and linguistically affirming learning. These are critical to ensuring all children have access to joyful, supportive, equity focused learning, especially DLL/ELs. Furthermore, teachers need time, support, training, and coaching to increase their ability to be intentional about their planning, so the learning becomes evermore deep and rich.

As we approach the half-way point for this 2022-23 school year, and we prepare for the state budget and policy process in January, SEAL will continue supporting educators and school communities across California while championing the investments and policies needed to center equity and create high-quality learning environments for California’s racially, culturally, linguistically, economically diverse children.

In Partnership,

Anya Hurwitz

Mountain View School District Case Study Brings to Life SEAL implementation Across a District

Our work at SEAL focuses on creating long-term systemic change that supports English Learners (ELs) and Dual Language Learners (DLLs). Transforming the system starts in the classroom. Through collaboration among teachers, families, coaches, principals, and district leaders, comprehensive, sustainable, robust, equity-minded, research and values-based school improvement efforts can be generated across different contexts, regions, and systems. Our case study series demonstrates that it is possible.

The Mountain View School District Case Study is the third and last in our case study series that captures the extensive story of a school district’s journey to SEAL implementation. While our evaluation research and policy briefs allow readers to learn how SEAL improved teaching and learning, and how students demonstrated stronger engagement and positive outcomes, Social Policy and Research Associates helped us document three district’s unique approaches to SEAL implementation filled with examples and reflection from school district leaders and educators.

In this case study, we follow Mountain View School District, which serves preschool through eighth-grade students in the San Gabriel Valley. Ninety percent of the district’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and more than half are English Learners (ELs). While the majority of ELs speak Spanish, the district also serves students who speak Arabic, Tagalog, Mandarin, and Vietnamese.

Prior to its partnership with SEAL, the district had been grappling with low EL test scores and low EL classification rates of students. Following a yearlong study funded by the California Community Foundation and in partnership with Californians Together, leaders discovered the root causes of students’ low achievement and were introduced to the SEAL model as an EL-focused early grades strategy.

The case study explores the conditions that enabled the district to adopt and implement SEAL successfully, relying on existing SEAL structures, training, and supports, all the while adapting to and complimenting its unique context and needs. The district developed an EL master plan with policies, structures, and implementation components that specifically referenced the SEAL model as a way to better center EL students’ needs. It set aside funding from its Local Accountability Action Plan and used seed funding from California Community Foundation for implementation efforts. Mountain View ultimately invested fully in adopting SEAL in a way that has facilitated SEAL integration into instruction, policies, systems, and practices throughout the district.

Read Mountain View School District Case Study

To complement the Mountain View School District Case Study we are sharing the November 2021 webinar recording where district leaders shared their experience with SEAL implementation and opened up about the challenges and opportunities as they pivoted to virtual learning at the onset of the pandemic, and how they continue to work with educators to accelerate the learning of their students.

View Webinar Recording

We look forward to working alongside educators and school communities to deliver powerful learning opportunities centered around the assets and needs ELs and DLLs so that all students can excel and thrive.

In partnership,

Dr. Anya Hurwitz

Executive Director

Enjoy all three case studies:

• Oak Grove School District
• Redwood City School District
• Mountain View School District

Dear Partners,

When we empower and equip teachers to deliver high-quality education to English Learners/Dual Language Learners (ELs/DLLs), we transform classrooms for students, uplift and center their families, and raise the bar in schools and school districts. Last month, we shared how our case studies series captured the powerful stories, lifting up the experiences of teachers and communities doing the hard and transformational work of educational equity, unpacking the influence and impact SEAL is having on their teaching and students.

We’re proud to share with you the official release of our Redwood City School District Case Study. This is the second of three case studies authored by Social Policy and Research Associates.

The Redwood City School District (RCSD) Case Study is a retrospective that brings to life the approach to SEAL implementation across a district prior to the onset of the pandemic as well as during. This case study highlights examples and outcomes from one RCSD elementary school and the district’s early childhood program. Among the outcomes cited are students’ high fluency in English and Spanish, increased parent participation, and richer curricula and instruction.

“SEAL represents best practices in education. The strategies we’re learning here can be applicable to students of all ages, even for college students. Good teaching is good teaching is good teaching. SEAL is good teaching.” 

– Edna Carmona, Director Of Child Development, RCSD

SEAL will share findings of the case study this afternoon at The Education Trust –West’s Education Equity Forum 2022, during our session titled, The Importance of Professional Learning for Early Care Educators that Centers the Needs of DLLs, where we will highlight SEAL’s professional development work with early childhood educators across the state and share specific examples from our RCSD case study to illustrate what professional learning looks like when the needs of DLLs are placed at the center.

For a synopsis of how SEAL was implemented in three California school districts, read Overview: The SEAL Model and Its Implementation Across Three Exemplar Districts. The overview also describes the SEAL model, including its origin story, central design principles, staffing, professional development structure, and highlights from its pilot and expansion efforts. Our third case study on Mountain View School District will be released in October. Stay tuned!

Sharing our journey with RCSD is also a special opportunity to celebrate the heritage, languages, traditions and contributions of Hispanics/Latinx to our nation during Hispanic Heritage Month. RCSD serves a diverse student body with a majority of students identifying as Hispanic/Latinx (68%) and with a majority of English Learners who speak Spanish (97%). Building family partnerships is a critical aspect of SEAL’s work, and RCSD’s implementation of our strategies created a vehicle to incorporate students’ cultural backgrounds into the curriculum and increase the relevance of what students learn. I know you’ll enjoy reading how our students shared their knowledge with family members in Gallery Walks, one of the cornerstones of the SEAL model. We are honored to partner with a diverse community of educators, advocates and influencers who help create language rich-environments and celebrate the rich diversity students and their families bring to the classroom.

When all cultures and languages are affirmed, the cultural capital that students enter the classroom with becomes the foundation of empowering, engaging and joyful learning. These case studies build upon the positive evidence of the SEAL model to transform education systems to be more equitable and just for ELs/DLLs in Redwood City School District and beyond.

In partnership,

Dr. Anya Hurwitz

Read the Case Studies

From the Executive Director

Dear Partners,

In our last newsletter, I shared that I’d be treating the reprieve of the summer as a gift. I am so grateful to have had time with my family and friends near and far. As we enter another school year, I hope each of you got the radical rest you all deserve.

While summers tend to be a little less hectic at SEAL, we were still busy planning and preparing for another school year focused on serving you, the powerful educators, advocates, and leaders working to center the assets and needs of our multilingual learners. This summer we welcomed six new SEAL team members who embody the values and bold leadership needed to partner with educators and transform practice and systems. These individuals, each with their own unique experiences inside and outside of the classroom, will help us chart the course for SEAL’s future.

And the future at SEAL will always be grounded in transforming classrooms so Dual Language/English Learners and all students thrive. We’re taking you on that transformational journey with our upcoming case studies series, highlighting the incredible work of three school districts’ implementation of SEAL. What’s refreshing about these case studies is that we hear direct quotes from teachers and parents. These are powerful stories, lifting up the experiences of communities doing the hard and transformational work of educational equity, and they unpack the influence and impact SEAL is having on their teaching and students.

Please connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook to follow the release of our case study series over the coming months.

In Partnership,

Dr. Anya Hurwitz

*NEW* Case Studies Series to Inspire Better EL Learning

Inspiration from Three School Districts Successfully Implementing SEAL

We’re excited to announce that over the next three months we’re telling the stories of three dynamic school districts that paved the way to implement SEAL: Oak Grove School District, Redwood City School District, and Mountain View School District. Authored by Social Policy and Research Associations, our first case study features the Oak Grove School District, which adopted SEAL in 2013 after broader education policy shifts led district leaders to create a new approach to educating EL students.

The case studies offer critical learnings from the districts’ implementation experiences, outcomes for schools and students, plus considerations for other school districts and policymakers looking to bring forth transformational equity-focused educational change. They accompany our 2021 evaluation study by Loyola Marymount University’s Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL), in partnership with the Wexford Institute, which determined SEAL improved teaching practices and SEAL English Learners demonstrated stronger engagement as well as positive language development and academic outcomes.

Each of the case studies include detailed examples of:

• Districts’ approaches to getting buy-in from teachers and school leaders
• Funding the initiative
• Providing ongoing professional development
• Specific school examples of SEAL instructional practices and outcomes

Finally, as part of this series SEAL is releasing Overview: The SEAL Model and Its Implementation Across Three Exemplar Districts. The Overview is perfect for anyone looking to get an introduction to SEAL, including its origin story, central design principles, staffing, professional development structure, and highlights from its pilot and expansion efforts.

Connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook to follow the release of our case study series over the coming months.

Read Case Studies

BTPDP Policy Brief Now Available!

Read our findings in our latest policy brief: Building the Supply of Bilingual Teachers in California: Evidence From State Investment Shows Districts Should Look Closer to Home for Bilingual Teacher Candidates.

This brief contains background on the Oak Grove/SEAL Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program (BTPDP) project and how it demonstrated positive results by increasing the supply of fully authorized bilingual educators and supporting all teacher participants in deepening their expertise around dual language/bilingual pedagogy.

Click here to learn more

More on the Oak Grove/SEAL BTPDP! This article by Martha I. Martínez, Ph.D., SEAL and Guadalupe Díaz Lara, Ph.D., California State University, Fullerton, was featured in the March 2022 issue of CABE’s Multilingual Educator magazine.

SEAL in the Field

SEAL’s Session with Oak Grove School District at the California Latino School Boards Association (CLSBA) 

Jorge Pacheco Jr. President of the California Latino School Boards Association, Trustee of the Oak Grove School District, Public School Teacher; Amy Boles, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, OGSD; SEAL Executive Director Anya Hurwitz

On August 26, SEAL and Oak Grove School District leadership led a conference session at CLSBA titled “Effective leadership, Good Governance, and Partnerships: How the SEAL model facilitates joyful learning for Dual Language Learners/English Learners” where they highlighted how the district embraced, adopted and adapted the SEAL model. They shared how the district strengthened the implementation, alignment, and sustainability of the SEAL model within and across multiple school sites by prioritizing teacher voice, collaboration and professional development, expanding SEAL into the upper elementary grades, and focusing on family partnership. All of this can be found in our new Oak Grove School District Case Study, the first of three case studies authored by Social Policy and Research Associates.

Read Oak Grove Case

Demonstration Site Visit

This 2022-23 school year, SEAL is back to providing demonstration site visits for educators, policymakers, and community members. We are excited to open SEAL classrooms to continue to show the field what asset and research-based, joyful learning can and should be when we center multilingual learners in our educational systems. Fill out this form if you would like to attend an upcoming demonstration visit in San Jose or Los Angeles.

CTC FEEDBACK on the P-3 ECE Specialist Credential

One of SEAL’s newest team members, Senior Program Specialist Karen Salinas Ascencio, submitted written commentary advocating for more explicit inclusion of home language as an asset, bilingualism, biliteracy, and family partnerships at the August 26th California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) meeting. Tune in for the upcoming meeting in October as commissioners will continue discussions and listen to community input on the new PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential. For a quick overview of the August meeting read CSBA’s blog update.

Summer Learning Lab: The English Learner Roadmap in Action

In June, the first cohort of K-6 educators participated in the Summer Learning Lab, an intensive 10-day professional learning opportunity designed by SEAL and a partnership with Californians Together as part of EL RISE! The cohort of 25 from El Grove School District included teachers, coaches, and administrators who spent time together putting their ELR principles into action. Co-teaching and planning allowed teachers to try new strategies while observing and supporting each other to build a shared understanding of implementing English learner strategies.  While the Summer Learning Lab does serve as an academic enrichment for students, it is primarily designed to serve as high-quality professional development for teachers. EL RISE! Is an Educator Workforce Investment Grant by the California Department of Education that supports the implementation and builds the professional capacity of educators across the state on the California English Learner Roadmap (ELR) policy.

Stay tuned for more updates on our EL RISE! professional development series. For questions, please contact Charice Guerra.

SEAL Trainer, Patricia Montes Pate, modeling the strategy of Deconstructing Text from their Dialogic Read Aloud for the Elk Grove staff and Sacramento County Office Partners.

SEAL Shares Best Practices at California Department of Education Webinar

On August 18, SEAL joined Fresno County Superintendent of Schools and Family Biliteracy for the California Department of Education’s (CDE) webinar: Multilingual Support Strategies for Young Learners in Preschool through 3rd Grade. Panelists shared best practices to support educators in their work to meet the needs of multilingual learners and English learners across preschool through third grade settings. To receive CDE news related to P-3 initiative and to ensure you receive updates about future webinars, email “subscribe” to subscribe-cdep3updates@mlist.cde.ca.gov.

Project PEARLL Is Underway!

SEAL is participating in Project PEARLL, a new federal grant-funded project in partnership with Loyola Marymount University’s Center for Equity for English Learners to improve language and literacy achievement for English learners in Los Angeles Unified elementary schools and to increase the pipeline of highly qualified bilingual teachers. An application process has been underway and approximately 45 teachers across eleven schools were selected to participate. Project PEARLL will provide a comprehensive, research and evidence-based Professional Learning (PL) program for district and school leaders, coaches, teachers, and families to improve learning environments and classroom instruction for ELs, assisting educators who work with ELs in meeting high professional standards and preventing Long Term English Learner status by improving student language and literacy achievement. Learn more about the PEARLL in this update and this EdSource article.

Merced Professional Learning Series

We recently kicked-off the one year Merced Professional Learning Series: Centering English Learners in the Classroom with the Merced County Office of Education (MCOE). In an inspirational and joy filled day, more than 40 teachers, district administrators, coaches and MCOE staff joined us to begin the journey of mutual commitment and collective learning for the success of our English Learners and their families in K-3. This series is designed around four topic driven cycles of learning, practice, and reflection. At the end of the series, participants gain a deeper understanding of the research and best practices that help to interrupt the long-term English Learner cycle by leveraging their strengths and centering their needs in the classroom. We look forward to our ongoing partnership with MCOE.

Upcoming Events

See you at Ed Trust–West’s Education Equity Forum 2022

SEAL is excited to present at Ed Trust–West’s upcoming Education Equity Forum 2022 on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. Our session titled “The Importance of Professional Learning for Early Care Educators that Centers the Needs of DLLs” will be delivered by Dr. Martha I. Martinez, SEAL’s Senior Director of Research & Evaluation and Karen Ascencio, SEAL’s Senior Program Specialist. This session will focus on SEAL’s work with early childhood educators to better serve dual language learners (DLLs) and their families and share key findings from our work that highlight the urgent need for DLL-focused professional development.

This forum will sell out fast. Register for Ed Trust–West’s Education Equity Forum TODAY!

CS Fundamentals

We NEED schools in CA to center multilingual learners in their Community Schools approach!! This Workshop, coming to a region near you, can help: Community Schools Fundamentals Workshops (Sac, San Jose, San Diego, and Fresno)

California is investing billions in Community Schools efforts. Here is an opportunity to identify your community school muscles, strengths and opportunities with your team in real time!  Learn how you can center the assets and needs of multilingual learners, families, and multilingual practices in Community Schools approaches.

Join the CA Community Schools Learning Exchange, the National Center for Community Schools and their partners for a two-day event specifically designed for district, school, COE, and community partner teams to level set, identify collaboration opportunities, and build upon new and existing strategies for student success. These workshops are for everyone – current and future grantees.

Join a workshop near you:

• September 19-20 in Sacramento
• September 22-23 in San Jose
• September 26-27 in San Diego
• September 29-30 in Fresno

Register Now

WEBINAR! EL RISE! Develop a District-Wide English Learner Master Plan

This two-session interactive institute happening on October 18, 2022, and November 2, 2022, will help LEA teams create a plan to develop a district-wide English Learner Master Plan aligned to the research-based California English Learner Roadmap policy. Participants will receive resources included in the Center for Equity for English Learners’ English Learner Master Plan Playbook to develop a strategy for beginning or refining their approach to writing their EL Master Plan. Alignment with EL Roadmap principles and elements will be highlighted.

Click here to register

SEAL Joins the National Committee for Effective Literacy

We are proud to announce that we are part of a national effort that centers on evidence-based literacy for multilingual learners. The National Committee for Effective Literacy (NCEL) is made up of researchers, teachers, educators, administrators, school board members and advocates from across the nation with expertise in literacy and the education of emergent bilingual/multilingual students. Visit NCEL to learn more and join efforts to uplift research, policies and practices so that all students are taught literacy based on their identified strengths and needs.

• NCEL Resource Page
• Join the Movement

Effective Literacy Podcast

To better understand the research and what works regarding reading pedagogy and literacy, join hosts Victoria and Anna, two educators passionate about all things literacy, along with expert guests and industry friends, in a deep-dive investigation into what literacy is, and how the students within the US education system could be better serviced when it comes to modern literacy methods. They interview experts from across the nation with extensive knowledge in literacy and discuss how best to support our students, specifically our multi-lingual learners, in becoming literate individuals by the time they graduate. New episodes will be released on the first and third Monday of each month.

Hear Podcast Episodes

WEBINAR: Effective Literacy Instruction for Multilingual Learners

Hear our own Dr. Laurie Olsen present about effective literacy for English Learners! On Wednesday, September 21 from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m., join the National Committee on Effective Literacy (NCEL), in collaboration with the U.S. Education Department’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) and the National Association of English Learner Program Administrators (NAELPA) for a webinar with panelists discussing best practices and leadership actions to promote effective literacy programs that honor the multilingual brain and leverage the linguistic and cultural assets of multilingual learners. Don’t miss this great speaker line up. Register HERE.

If you have questions in advance of the webinar, please send them to: askncela@manhattanstrategy.com and insert the webinar title into the subject line.

Click here to register

SEAL in the News!

Reading, math scores fell sharply during pandemic, national study shows

This article from Texas newspaper The Eagle reports on a new federal study revealing decline of math and reading scores for America’s nine-year-olds and highlights what schools around the country are doing to combat learning loss. SEAL is highlighted for our efforts to help bilingual educators in California.

Read more

Dual-immersion programs show promise in fighting enrollment declines

In this EdSource article by Zaidee Stavely, we read encouraging news that dual-language immersion programs “are so much in demand that some school districts have been able to stop declining enrollment or even grow enrollment in a school by beginning a dual-language program.” Three of our SEAL partner districts are featured in this article: Berryessa Union School District, Franklin-McKinely School District, and Newark Unified School District.

Read more

Frustration after bilingual education bill dies in State Assembly

A bill that would have helped school districts open more dual-language immersion programs failed to pass the California State Assembly last month. Senate Bill 952 would have established a program to offer at least 20 school districts technical assistance and grants of up to $750,000 each to expand or establish dual-language immersion programs. In this EdSource article by Zaidee Stavely, SEAL Executive Director, Anya Hurwitz, delivers our statement that SB 952 would have been a step forward to realizing the promise of an equity-focused multilingual educational system.

Read more

Welcome to SEAL

Karen Ascencio

Karen Ascencio joins us as Senior Program Specialist. Karen has been in the field of education for over 30 years. Her primary focus has been on early learning in the classroom and administration. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development, a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, a Child Development Program Director Permit, and a CTE Credential in Education, Child Development, and Family Services. Learn more.

Patricia E. Chavez

Patricia E. Chavez joins us as Head of External Relations to lead SEAL’s communications efforts and serve as a thought partner on strategy, communications, and effective relationship building with leaders in the policy and advocacy space. With more than 25 years of experience, Patty has dedicated her career to building partnerships and public support on causes that facilitate community transformation.  Learn more.

Dr. Kentaro Iwasaki

Dr. Kentaro Iwasaki joins us as Head of Programs and will play a critical role in reimagining SEAL’s programmatic work in a way that responds to changed and shifting conditions in public education. He has a passion for personal, team, and systems-level change that stems from his own experiences of deep transformative growth in public education.  Learn more.

Molly Moyer

Molly Moyer joins us as a Program Specialist with over ten years of experience working with diverse students and teachers in grades PK-5 where she demonstrated success in developing the language, literacy, and numeracy skills of students while cultivating a rich classroom community. Learn more.

Cindy Tinajero

Cindy Tinajero joins us as a Program Specialist and is an award-winning bilingual social justice advocate with six years of teaching experience in diverse socio-economic communities. She earned her Master of Arts in Education in Reading & Literacy degree from Point Loma Nazarene University and her Bachelor of Arts in Business degree from California State University Bakersfield. Learn more.

Armando Zumaya

Armando Zumaya joins us as Head of Development and will lead SEAL’s fundraising, including overseeing the planning and implementation of a long-range fundraising plan. A 36-year nonprofit fundraising veteran, he has been published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nonprofit Times, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Grassroots Fundraising Journal, Advancing Philanthropy, and other publications in the US, Canada, UK, South Africa and Mexico. Learn more.

Dear Partners,

Inspiration can come from many places, but at SEAL we find ourselves *most* inspired by the districts, schools, and talented educators we’ve worked shoulder to shoulder with to build joyful, engaging classrooms that center English Learner/Dual Language Learners. That’s why we’re so excited to announce that over the next three months we’re highlighting three dynamic school districts that paved the way to implement SEAL: Oak Grove School District, Redwood City School District, and Mountain View School District.

Today, we’re proud to release and present the Oak Grove School District Case Study at the 2022 California Latino School Boards Association Unity (CLSBA) Conference. This is the first of three case studies authored by Social Policy and Research Associates.

SEAL and Oak Grove School District leadership will lead a conference session later today at CLSBA titled “Effective leadership, Good Governance, and Partnerships: How the SEAL model facilitates joyful learning for Dual Language Learners/English Learners” where we’ll highlight how the district adopted the SEAL model in 2013 after broader education policy shifts led district leaders to create a new approach to educating EL students. We’ll share how the district strengthened the implementation, alignment, and sustainability of the SEAL model within and across multiple school sites by prioritizing teacher voice, collaboration and professional development, expanding SEAL into the upper elementary grades, and focusing on family partnership.

Each of the case studies include detailed examples of:

• Districts’ approaches to getting buy-in from teachers and school leaders
• Funding the initiative
• Providing ongoing professional development
• Specific school examples of SEAL instructional practices and outcomes

Our reports also offer critical learnings from the districts’ implementation experiences and considerations for other school districts and policymakers looking to implement SEAL.

Finally, as part of this series SEAL is releasing Overview: The SEAL Model and Its Implementation Across Three Exemplar Districts. The Overview is perfect for anyone looking to get an introduction to SEAL, including its origin story, central design principles, staffing, professional development structure, and highlights from its pilot and expansion efforts.

Connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook to follow the release of our case study series over the coming months.

Culturally and linguistically affirming education is an equity and social justice issue for our students and our nation. These case studies demonstrate the power and potential for SEAL to make education systems change that is equitable and just for California’s increasingly diverse student body.

Read the Case Studies

In partnership,

Dr. Anya Hurwitz

Dear Colleagues,

SEAL’s work aims to build systems and practices that support multilingual language development, literacy, and joyful learning— for Dual Language/English Learners and ALL students. Our newest leadership team members embody the values and bold leadership needed to transform practice and systems. We are honored to welcome Kentaro Iwasaki, Patricia E. Chavez, and Armando Zumaya to the SEAL family! Please help welcome them and read more about their backgrounds below.

Dr. Kentaro Iwasaki

Dr. Kentaro Iwasaki joins us as Head of Programs and will play a critical role in reimagining SEAL’s programmatic work in a way that responds to changed and shifting conditions in public education.

He has a passion for personal, team, and systems-level change that stems from his own experiences of deep transformative growth in public education. He spent sixteen years as a high school math teacher and department head, mostly at Mission High School in San Francisco Unified, which instilled in him a vision and relentless drive for high-quality instruction for students furthest from the center. His eleven years as a non-profit leader at ConnectED, overseeing projects focused on STEM and English Learners with over 40 district partners, equipped him to engage in the complex and rewarding work of systems change in the education sector. Kentaro is a National Board Certified teacher and recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching.

Kentaro can be reached at kentaro@seal.org.

Patricia E. Chavez

Patricia E. Chavez joins us as Head of External Relations to lead SEAL’s communications efforts and serve as a thought partner on strategy, communications, and effective relationship building with leaders in the policy and advocacy space.

Patty has dedicated her career to building cross-sector partnerships and public support on issues and causes that facilitate community transformation. An adept storyteller with more than 25 years of experience, she has worked in public, private, and nonprofit sectors leading initiatives that create and execute brands, strengthen marketing and communications, foster strategic partnerships, and expand relationships with policymakers, education leaders, partners and stakeholders. As a former Councilmember, Patty has a unique combination of legislative and community experience and cultural competency that drives her work with diverse populations to strengthen the voice of underrepresented communities. Among the various initiatives, Patty led coordination efforts for San Diego County of Education to increase civic and community support for quality early education and transitional kindergarten programs.

Patty can be reached at pattyc@seal.org.

Armando Zumaya

Armando Zumaya joins us as Head of Development and will lead SEAL’s fundraising, including overseeing the planning and implementation of a long-range fundraising plan.

Armando is a 36-year nonprofit fundraising veteran. He has served in many roles including Chief Development Officer, Vice President of Development, and Director of Major Gifts. He is known especially for his work at Cornell University, Cal Berkeley, the San Francisco Opera, Playworks, Pivot Learning Partners, the Mexican Museum, and the USS Hornet Museum. He is experienced in a wide range of fundraising methods but is known for his innovative work in major gifts prospecting, cultivation design, the use of prospect research, and DEI in fundraising. He helps lead volunteer associations and groups that promote Latinx in fundraising and improved fundraising for Latinx nonprofits. He has been published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nonprofit Times, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Grassroots Fundraising Journal, Advancing Philanthropy, and other publications in the US, Canada, UK, South Africa and Mexico.

Armando can be reached at armando@seal.org.

Kentaro, Patty, and Armando join our dynamic executive leadership team that includes Ben Buis, Patty Delaney, and Dr. Martha I. Martinez. I couldn’t be more excited to welcome additional strategic leaders as we chart the course for SEAL’s future.

Sincerely,

Dr. Anya Hurwitz

Executive Director

Join: SEAL Leadership in Action

California Latino School Boards Association’s Unity Conference

A presentation with SEAL & Oak Grove School District on Friday, August 26, 2022

Session Title: 

Effective leadership, Good Governance, and Partnerships: How the SEAL model facilitates joyful learning for Dual Language Learners/English Learners and ALL students

Moderator: 

• Patricia E. Chavez, Head of External Relations, SEAL

Presenters: 

• Dr. Anya Hurwitz, Executive Director, SEAL
• Amy Boles, Assistant Superintendent, Oak Grove School District
• The Honorable Jorge Pacheco, Jr., Board Member, Oak Grove School District

Learn more about California Latino School Boards Association’s Unity Conference

Ed Trust–West’s Education Equity Forum on Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Session Title: 

The Importance of Professional Learning for Early Care Educators that Centers the Needs of DLLs

Learn more about the session

Presenters: 

• Dr. Martha I. Martinez, Senior Director of Research & Evaluation, SEAL
• Karen Ascencio, Senior Program Specialist, SEAL

This forum will sell out fast. Register TODAY!

Learn more about Ed Trust–West’s Education Equity Forum

Letter from the Executive Director

Dear SEAL Partners,

I wish I was writing to you under happier circumstances, as the end of the school year is something SEAL loves to celebrate. But I write to you against the backdrop of the second anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and less than a month after one of the worst mass school shootings in our nation’s history.

At a time when we should be celebrating another year of joyful learning, we are mourning students who were robbed of their immense potential and teachers who died heroically trying to save their students. Amid this anger and loss, SEAL is grateful for the resilience of school leaders and teachers everywhere who showed up for students and held space for each other.

It feels so out of place to talk about our work surrounded by so much sadness and stress, but I would be remiss in not expressing my deep gratitude to all the educators that we partnered with this school year and to our SEAL team who worked tirelessly to support them. Right now our newsletter might be the furthest thing from your minds. When you’re ready, please return to read our wonderful updates and utilize the educator resources within.

I will be treating every moment this summer as the gift that it truly is, recognizing that for many, it will be an ongoing struggle to overcome the enormity of all the pain.

Wishing you healing moments this summer.

In Partnership,
Anya Hurwitz

BTPDP Policy Brief – COMING SOON!

In the fall of 2017, the California Department of Education awarded the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program (BTPDP) state grant to eight Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to address the bilingual teacher shortage in California. Oak Grove School District was awarded a BTPDP grant to support a partnership between SEAL and a consortium of twelve school districts and one county office of education. The Oak Grove/SEAL BTPDP project provided activities and resources to teachers to increase their dual language/bilingual pedagogical knowledge and skills and support their efforts to obtain their Bilingual Authorization. Overall, the project demonstrated positive results by increasing the supply of fully authorized bilingual educators and supporting all teacher participants in deepening their expertise around dual language/bilingual pedagogy. We share these findings and more in an upcoming policy brief: Building the Supply of Bilingual Teachers in California: Evidence From State Investment Shows Districts Should Look Closer to Home for Bilingual Teacher Candidates.

Learn More

In the meantime, you can read this article by Martha I. Martínez, Ph.D., SEAL (Sobrato Early Academic Language) & Guadalupe Díaz Lara, Ph.D., California State University, Fullerton, that was featured in the March 2022 issue of CABE’s Multilingual Educator magazine. Read the article below and you can also read the entire March 2022 Multilingual Educator online here.

Our Call To Action in EdSource: Keep an Eye on Equity in Bilingual Education

1. Fostering antiracist mindsets through ideological clarity: the ability of teachers to identify deficit-based perspectives of emergent bilinguals and to develop asset-based frameworks and instructional approaches that help them teach in culturally responsive ways and that allow all students to thrive.
2. Ensuring meaningful and authentic engagement with Spanish-speaking families: these family-school partnerships are essential for creating equitable bilingual programs and school systems for English Learners.

• Read our call to action in EdSource
• Read a summary of the NABE article
• Read the NABE academic journal article

Antilinguicist Schools, Antilinguicist Systems

SEAL’s recently published chapter called, “Antilinguicist Schools, Antilinguicist Systems”, describes how linguicism operates in schools, its harmful impacts on DLLs and ELs, and SEAL’s approach to addressing it. Like racism, linguicism reproduces inequalities between groups of people; however, linguicism does this on the basis of language. It grows out of racist ideologies and is reinforced by them. For example, when a teacher sees her brown-skinned students who have recently immigrated from Latin America as entering the classroom with “no language.” To foster antilinguicist schools and systems, SEAL works with educators at the classroom, school and district level to explore the intersections between language, race and power, and to cultivate assets-based beliefs, policies and practices so that multilingual learners can thrive in their schools. This published chapter was co-authored by several current and former SEAL staff members, including Joanna Meadvin, Adriana Diaz, Guadalupe Diaz, Anya Hurwitz, Martha I. Martinez, Corina Sapien, and Corey Weschler.

SEAL in the Field

Full Model Training

SEAL Joins the One Million Teachers of Color Coalition

Educator Webinar on Resources for Supporting PreK – 3rd Grade Multilingual Children!

Advocacy Day in Sacramento

Leveraging Elementary Academic Text to Deepen Language Proficiency Webinar

SEAL at CABE!

Professional Development Offerings

English Learner Advocacy Institute 2022

Welcome to SEAL

Jacqui Frankle, Program Support Assistant

Julia Fajardo, Program Support Assistant

Julia joined the SEAL team in April 2022. She received her BA degree in Communication with an emphasis in Digital Media from Saint Mary’s College of California. Before joining the SEAL team as the program support assistant, she previously worked coordinating the administrative, virtual event planning, and marketing in the mental health space. Growing up in a family of educators, Julia continues to be an advocate for educational equality and quality instruction in the classroom.

June 2022

The research is clear that all students benefit from working with teachers of color, especially students of color. For Black students, having just one Black teacher in elementary school can improve their lives far into adulthood.

Yet  across the country, teachers don’t look like the students they serve. While 53 percent of students in the United States identify as people of color, 80 percent of teachers are white, as are 78 percent of principals.  And 40 percent of public schools don’t have a single teacher of color.

Every discussion about educator diversity must include bilingual teachers. We support the movement to ensure our nation’s educator workforce is more racially, ethnically, andlinguistically diverse just like our student population.

That is why SEAL joined the One Million Teachers of Color Coalition, a national coalition committed to creating an educator workforce that more closely resembles the students it serves. By improving how educators are recruited and retained, the coalition’s goal is to grow the number of teachers of color by one million and the number of leaders of color to 30,000 by 2030.

We look forward to working with this coalition to build an excellent and diverse educator workforce that both reflects and supports all students. We co-authored this blog with our fellow coalition member, Latinos for Education, that will highlight the importance of including bilingual teachers in this conversation.

Read our blog