SEAL 2022 June Newsletter

2023-04-06T12:21:25-07:00

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

Recently, the NABE Journal of Research and Practice published, “Keeping an Eye on Equity in Bilingual Education.” This journal article was co-authored by several SEAL staff members, including Adriana Diaz, Anya Hurwitz, Martha I. Martinez, Joanna Meadvin, Corina Sapien, and Heather Skibbins.
In an EdSource commentary published in May, SEAL Executive Director, Anya Hurwitz, shared a few key points from the article and challenged policymakers, education leaders, teacher education programs, communities, and advocates to keep an eye on equity as we move toward promoting bilingualism and expanding dual language programs.
In our NABE journal article, we outline two key ways SEAL works to address these inequities through our work with bilingual educators and the families of English Learner students:
  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.
SEAL recognizes the relationship between language, race, and power and the ways in which many English Learners have been denied access to a quality education because of their language status, their racial/ethnic backgrounds, and limited access to power. There is much work to do when it comes to centering equity in bilingual education, and we expand more about our work in this blog.

We are extremely proud to see equity-focused bilingual programs grow in California after an almost 20-year ban. We know it can be done and stand ready to partner to keep the focus on equity in bilingual education.

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

The SEAL team was back to training in the field! The work spanned LA to San Rafael (with significant time spent in the Central Valley), and included four preschool cohorts, three TK-3rd grade cohorts, and five 4th-6th grade cohorts. Many of these trainings were adopted and modified to make up for challenging schedules, substitute shortages, and teacher needs in the face of the ongoing effects of Covid 19. After a year of virtual training, it was heartwarming and impactful to be back in person!

SEAL Joins the One Million Teachers of Color Coalition

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, and linguistically 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’ll be releasing a blog this month with our fellow coalition member, Latinos for Education, that will highlight the importance of including bilingual teachers in this conversation.

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

In the Spring, SEAL and Early Edge California partnered to present a three-part webinar series for PreK-3rd grade educators of Multilingual Learners (MLs). These sessions highlighted three of the key instructional strategy areas featured in the Multilingual Learning Toolkit:
  1. Family engagement
  2. Supporting ML’s oral language development
  3. Supporting ML’s home language development
The Toolkit is an online hub featuring a vetted selection of research-based resources and best practices specifically for educators, administrators, and teacher education faculty whose work supports young Multilingual Learners. It is the result of a collaborative effort that includes researchers, practitioners, advocacy organizations, state agencies, and philanthropic organizations from California and across the nation.
We recorded all webinars so educators everywhere can access them.

Advocacy Day in Sacramento

Last month SEAL Executive Director, Anya Hurwitz, participated in a successful advocacy day at the Capitol with our partners Californians Together (CalTog) and California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) where we advocated for our legislative and budget priorities. We had the opportunity to meet with the Governor’s Office, legislative offices and State Board of Education staff.
We can’t stress enough the need for the renewal of funding for the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program, which uses a “grow your own” approach to address the bilingual teacher shortage by allowing local education agencies to apply for funds to provide learning opportunities to increase the number of bilingual authorized teachers. Learn more in our new policy brief that discusses the finding of our Oak Grove/SEAL Bilingual Teacher grant project. 

Leveraging Elementary Academic Text to Deepen Language Proficiency Webinar

On May 10, 2022 we partnered with Californians Together to host an EL RISE! webinar on how elementary school teachers can leverage academic texts to deepen their English Learners’ language proficiency. This two-hour webinar was embedded with pre-session work and follow-up application that equipped teachers to select high-quality mentor texts in order to build students’ ability to effectively express themselves in written and oral formats. The teachers who attended learned how to guide their students to make effective meaning by analyzing texts and text excerpts for critical text features.

SEAL at CABE!

The SEAL Program Team was honored to present NINE workshops at this year’s CABE 2022 Conference: Stand Up! Get Up! For Biliteracy and Multilingual Rights! The conference was held virtually from March 29 to April 2, 2022.
Here were the sessions we conducted:
  1. World in the Classroom: Honoring Students’ and Teachers’ Identities and Experiences
  2. Lead for Equity: The Power of Dual Language Programs
  3. Coaching: The Essential Role to Enact Powerful, Lasting Reform
  4. Tools and Techniques for Planning Responsive DELD Lessons
  5. ¡El Tiempo es Ahora! / The Time is Now! Empower Yourself – Advocate for Dual Language Programs
  6. ¡Taller para padres!
  7. Designated and Integrated ELD: Using Language Functions as a Bridge
  8. Supporting DLLs in PreK & TK
  9. Calling all Parents & Guardians!
If you attended any of these sessions – THANK YOU!
Save the Date! Join us at CABE next year March 22-25, 2023 in Long Beach!

SEAL at AERA!

We are proud to share that Dr. Martha I. Martinez, SEAL – Sobrato Early Academic Language’s Director of Research & Evaluation, presented SEAL research, Creating a Third Space in Distance Learning for English Learners in Kindergarten, at the 2022 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting!
Congratulations, Martha! This is truly a testament to Dr. Martinez’s valued expertise and work at SEAL.

Professional Development Offerings

Teacher Preparation

SEAL has created, and piloted in partnership with San Jose State and Oak Grove School District, a series of six Teacher Preparation Learning Cycles. The cycles are meant to close the gap between theory learned in the university classroom and clinical practice. Through these cycles, teacher candidates learn how to enact ELL best practices with SEAL’s research-based strategies. The Learning Cycles are inquiry-based and designed to engage candidates with their mentors in continuous reflection over the course of their preparation year.

SEAL’s Powerful Professional Learning for Dual Language Program Leaders & Teachers

SEAL (Sobrato Early Academic Language) is a powerful English Learner-focused approach to education rooted at the intersection of research and educational equity. Since 2008, SEAL has partnered with dozens of districts to provide comprehensive professional development to school district leaders, principals, and teachers.
Dual Language programs are uniquely poised to have meaningful and substantive impact on educational equity for English Learners, providing both access to intellectually rich, high quality instruction, and affirming, inclusive school environments.
SEAL’s professional development ignites changes in systems and practices that support language development, literacy, and engaging, joyful learning— for English Learners, and ALL students. We are especially thrilled to share our plans to expand our Dual Language Program professional learning offerings to school leaders and teachers of Preschool through 6th-grade settings.
Dual Language Teacher Pedagogy Series
The DL Teacher Pedagogy Series is a comprehensive two-year professional development series on pedagogy and classroom strategies for biliteracy, bilingualism for DL teachers and coaches. There will be a series of virtual learning sessions and twice yearly in-person Bilingual Convenings to learn about best practices for DL classrooms. The content will ground educators in bilingual pedagogy, the three pillars of DL, how to strategically coordinate and scaffold authentic literacy instruction in both languages, capitalizing on transfer, cross-language connections and the power of the bilingual brain. Participants will also engage in professional learning around implementing effective Designated ELD within a DL classroom, and how to leverage and celebrate students and families cultural and linguistic assets.
Dual Language Leadership Series
The DL Leadership Series for administrators, coaches, and teacher leads is designed to support the design, planning, improvement, implementation and sustainability of high-quality DL programs. Participants will explore a variety of topics as they develop their site/district action plan, particularly with equity, continuous improvement and collaboration in mind. The series includes virtual sessions and twice-yearly Bilingual Convenings. Participants will also have access to all the teacher sessions.
Technical Assistance
Paired with the DL Leadership Series, SEAL provides an additional layer of support through our deeper, customized one-on-one engagements with our Bilingual Consulting Team. We meet with administrators or DL leadership teams to assess the types and depth of services required, develop an individualized district/site plan, and then engage in the required professional learning and thought-partnering to create, grow, or improve existing bilingual programs.
For pricing, questions, or more information, please contact Corina Sapien at Corina@seal.org.

English Learner Advocacy Institute 2022

November 10-13, 2022, Pomona, CA
Applications deadline: June 30, 2022
Are you passionate about creating a more equitable education system for English learners? Californians Together invites mid-career professionals to apply to this extraordinary, four-day professional development event for selected education leaders and advocates for quality education for English Learners. This is a fully-funded event (materials, meals, lodging), with support available as needed for transportation. Applications will be competitive, as capacity for this event is limited.
The institute will be based on design and materials developed for the English Learner Leadership and Legacy Initiative (ELLLI) including the case studies outlined in A Legacy of Courage and Activism: stories from the movement toward educational equity and access for English learners in California by Dr. Laurie Olsen.
Those who complete the four days will become part of an expanding community of ELLLI advocates, along with other mid-career professionals and veteran EL advocates from across the state working to impact state-wide policy and practice in fostering quality education for English learners and multilingual learners in California.
For more information, please contact Ruth Barajas, Project Director at ruth@caltog.org

Welcome to SEAL

Jacqui Frankle, Program Support Assistant

Jacqui works with the Program Team to coordinate the administrative and logistical pieces of SEAL’s work. Jacqui brings nearly a decade of relevant experience working with educators from across the country. Most recently, Jacqui was responsible for event coordination, marketing support, and social media in the educational non-profit arena. She is committed to supporting SEAL’s work to bring equity and quality instruction to the classroom.

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.

SEAL 2022 June Newsletter2023-04-06T12:21:25-07:00

SEAL Joins the 1 Million Teachers of Color Coalition

2023-04-06T12:28:37-07:00

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

SEAL Joins the 1 Million Teachers of Color Coalition2023-04-06T12:28:37-07:00

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

2023-04-06T12:33:59-07:00

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, the NABE Journal of Research and Practice published, “Keeping an Eye on Equity in Bilingual Education.” I co-authored this journal article along with several SEAL staff members, including Martha I. Martinez, Joanna Meadvin, Corina Sapien, Heather Skibbins, and Adriana Diaz.

In an EdSource commentary published yesterday I shared a few key points from the article and challenged policymakers, education leaders, teacher education programs, communities, and advocates to keep an eye on equity as we move toward promoting bilingualism and expanding dual language programs for all students, not just English Learners.

Despite this positive national trend we also know that English Learners and their families experience marginalization in ways that continue to fuel inequities in these programs.

In our NABE journal article we outline two key ways SEAL works to address these inequities through our work with bilingual educators and the families of English Learner students:

  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.

SEAL recognizes the relationship between language, race, and power and the ways in which many English Learners have been denied access to a quality education because of their language status, their racial/ethnic backgrounds, and limited access to power. There is much work to do when it comes to centering equity in bilingual education and we expand more about our work in this blog.

We are extremely proud to see equity-focused bilingual programs grow in California after an almost 20-year ban. We know it can be done and stand ready to partner to keep the focus on equity in bilingual education.

In solidarity,
Anya Hurwitz

Our Call To Action in EdSource: Keep an Eye on Equity in Bilingual Education2023-04-06T12:33:59-07:00

SEAL’s Powerful Professional Learning for Dual Language Program Leaders & Teachers

2023-04-06T12:46:18-07:00

SEAL (Sobrato Early Academic Language) is a powerful English Learner-focused approach to education rooted at the intersection of research and educational equity. Since 2008, SEAL has partnered with dozens of districts to provide comprehensive professional development to school district leaders, principals, and teachers.

Dual Language programs are uniquely poised to have meaningful and substantive impact on educational equity for English Learners, providing both access to intellectually rich, high quality instruction, and affirming, inclusive school environments.

SEAL’s professional development ignites changes in systems and practices that support language development, literacy, and engaging, joyful learning— for English Learners, and ALL students. We are especially thrilled to share our plans to expand our Dual Language Program professional learning offerings to school leaders and teachers of Preschool through 6th-grade settings.

Dual Language Teacher Pedagogy Series

The DL Teacher Pedagogy Series is a comprehensive two-year professional development series on the pedagogy and classroom strategies for biliteracy, bilingualism for DL teachers and coaches. There will be a series of virtual learning sessions and twice yearly in-person Bilingual Convenings to learn about best practices for DL classrooms. The content will ground educators in bilingual pedagogy, the three pillars of DL, how to strategically coordinate and scaffold authentic literacy instruction in both languages, capitalizing on transfer, cross-language connections and the power of the bilingual brain. Participants will also engage in professional learning around implementing effective Designated ELD within a DL classroom, and how to leverage and celebrate students and families cultural and linguistic assets.

Dual Language Leadership Series

The DL Leadership Series for administrators, coaches, and teacher leads is designed to support the design, planning, improvement, implementation and sustainability of high quality DL programs. Participants will explore a variety of topics as they develop their site/district action plan, particularly with equity, continuous improvement and collaboration in mind. The series includes virtual sessions and twice-yearly Bilingual Convenings. Participants will also have access to all the teacher sessions to attend.

Technical Assistance

Paired with the DL Leadership Series, SEAL provides an additional layer of support through our deeper, customized one-on-one engagements with our Bilingual Consulting Team. We meet with administrators or DL leadership teams to assess the types and depth of services required, develop an individualized district/site plan, and then engage in the required professional learning and thought-partnering to create, grow, or improve existing bilingual programs.

For pricing, questions, or more information, please contact Corina Sapien at Corina@seal.org

Learn more about our offerings

SEAL’s Powerful Professional Learning for Dual Language Program Leaders & Teachers2023-04-06T12:46:18-07:00

Can you recommend a leader?

2023-04-06T13:01:21-07:00

Dear SEAL Partners,

As we approach our fourth year as an independent organization, we are proud of the work we have done, along with our partners, to enable deep changes in school systems and policy development. To build upon this great work, I’m thrilled to share that SEAL is seeking candidates for two inaugural leadership positions.

The Head of Programs will play a critical role in reimagining SEAL’s programmatic work in a way that responds to changed and shifting conditions in public education. They will leverage their pedagogical and operational expertise to shepherd program definition and delivery at scale, lead and develop the organization’s largest team, and steward SEAL’s positioning within the field.

The Head of Development & Communications will lead SEAL’s fundraising and communications efforts, including overseeing planning and implementation of a long-range fundraising plan and serving as a thought partner on strategy, communications, and effective relationship building with leaders in the policy and advocacy space.

I couldn’t be more excited to welcome additional strategic leaders as we chart the course in a post-covid world. We want to spread the word broadly about these important inaugural positions, and we’d be grateful for your partnership in this endeavor.

I’m sure there are many terrific candidates for these roles among your networks who have shown success leading programs, building development efforts, and crafting communication initiatives in nonprofits, foundations, and other educational organizations. We welcome your ideas and connection-making as we identify the right leaders for these key positions.

Please help us spread the word, by sharing our LinkedIn and Twitter posts. You can also share this post among your networks.

Find out more about the Head of Programs position here. We have partnered with Promise54 to lead this engagement. If leaders are interested in this role or have recommendations, they can contact Leslie Nair at leslie@promise54.org.

Find out more about the Head of Development and Communication position here. We have partnered with Edgility Consulting to lead this engagement. If leaders are interested in the role or have recommendations, they can contact Brett Kunsch at bkunsch@edgilityconsulting.com.

Thank you, in advance, for your help with this important recruitment.

Sincerely,
Anya Hurwitz
Executive Director

Can you recommend a leader?2023-04-06T13:01:21-07:00

SEAL 2022 February Newsletter

2023-04-06T13:17:03-07:00

Letter from the Executive Director

Dear SEAL Partners,

Today marks the last day of Black History Month and I reflect on this passage from James Baldwin in The Fire Next Time:

“One can be–indeed, one must strive to become–tough and philosophical concerning destruction and death, for this is what most of mankind has been best at since we have heard of war; remember, I said most of mankind, but it is not permissible that the authors of devastation should also be innocent. It is the innocence which constitutes the crime.”

Baldwin’s words reinforce the importance of understanding that Black history is United States history and world history, and how critical it is to have a balanced set of historical perspectives rather than a glorified, racist retelling of the past; for this is certainly core to an equitable and just society. You can read James Baldwin’s A Letter to my Nephew here.

SEAL honors Black History Month today and every day by actively committing ourselves to inclusive, anti-racist schools and classrooms. Our staff works to advance racial equity through culturally and linguistically affirming education – and we stand strong with teachers and all our partners making this a reality in diverse classrooms across California. We also celebrate our Black educators – the brilliance and cultural assets they bring into classrooms and schools – as we build a new system rooted in educational equity.

As an organization that cares passionately about the physical, emotional, and mental health of our children and communities, we will continue to be relentless in the face of oppression and affirm Black Lives Matter. This is our promise to you.

In solidarity,
Dr. Anya Hurwitz

 

A Note on Current Events

We are saddened to hear about the events unfolding in Ukraine at this moment. Throughout history we know that children are the ones who suffer most when their communities are under attack. Every child deserves the right to experience joyful and engaging learning, and above all feel safe.

Here at home, we know that our students are watching, have questions or may want to talk about what’s happening in Ukraine. EdWeek has created this guide to help teachers talk with students about the Russian-Ukraine War.

“If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a war against war, we shall have to begin with the children” – Mahatma Gandhi

Grant Opportunities for Districts!

The California Dept. of Education has announced a Request for Applications for the Dual Language Immersion Grant to expand or establish dual language immersion programs. The deadline for applications is March 15, 2022 by 4pm PST. Please note that the intent to apply deadline has passed. All information about the program and deadlines can be found here.

Since 2008, SEAL has partnered with dozens of districts to provide comprehensive professional development to preschool and school district leaders, principals, and teachers. SEAL’s professional development ignites changes in systems and practices that support language development, literacy, and engaging, joyful learning— for English Learners, and ALL students.

The Dual Immersion Grant Program can provide districts with resources for high-quality professional development. SEAL is excited to offer three types of support for dual language program development and expansion.

  • DUAL LANGUAGE TEACHER PEDAGOGY SERIES
  • DUAL LANGUAGE LEADERSHIP SERIES
  • TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Learn more about our offerings

For pricing, questions, or more information, please contact Patty Delaney at patty@seal.org.

 

Save the Date!

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

SEAL and Early Edge California have partnered to present a three-part webinar series this spring 2022 for PreK-3rd educators of Multilingual Learners (MLs). These sessions will highlight three of the key instructional strategy areas featured in the Multilingual Learning Toolkit:

  1. Family engagement
  2. Supporting ML’s oral language development
  3. Supporting ML’s home language development

The Toolkit is an online hub featuring a vetted selection of research-based resources and best practices specifically for educators, administrators, and teacher education faculty whose work supports young Multilingual Learners. It is the result of a collaborative effort that includes researchers, practitioners, advocacy organizations, state agencies, and philanthropic organizations from California and across the nation.

All webinars will take place via Zoom from 4:00-5:00 p.m. (PST).

Session 1: Partnering with Families to Affirm Children’s Languages, Cultures & Identities will be conducted in English on March 2nd and in Spanish on March 29th.

Session 2: Supporting Multilingual Learners’ Oral Language Development highlights the various roles early childhood educators play in supporting young children’s oral language development and is scheduled for April 21st.

Session 3: Supporting Multilingual Learners’ Home Language Development will focus on essential strategies and practices educators can use to create a welcoming learning environment that supports bilingualism and a child’s connection to their home language. This webinar will be held on May 12th.

Hosted by Early Edge California, the webinar series will be led by our fantastic SEAL Programs Team:

  • Patricia Montes Pate, Program Coordinator
  • Ana Marisol Sanchez, Program Specialist; and
  • Cory Wechsler, Program Coordinator

For more information and to register for these free webinars, please visit the registration page.

Register now!

To learn more about the Multilingual Learning Toolkit, read this blog by New America that highlights SEAL resources for supporting Dual Language Learners.

 

SEAL in the Field

JOIN US AT CABE!

The SEAL Program Team is excited to present NINE workshops at this year’s CABE 2022 Conference: Stand Up! Get Up! For Biliteracy and Multilingual Rights! The conference will be held virtually March 29 to April 2, 2022.

Join us at our sessions!

Wednesday, March 30th | 4:45pm-6:45pm

  • World in the Classroom: Honoring Students’ and Teachers’ Identities and Experiences
  • Lead for Equity: The Power of Dual Language Programs
  • Coaching: The Essential Role to Enact Powerful, Lasting Reform
  • Tools and Techniques for Planning Responsive DELD Lessons

Thursday, March 31th | 5:55pm-6:45pm

  • ¡El Tiempo es Ahora! / The Time is Now! Empower Yourself – Advocate for Dual Language Programs

Friday, April 1st | 4:45pm-6:45pm

  • ¡Taller para padres!
  • Designated and Integrated ELD: Using Language Functions as a Bridge
  • Supporting DLLs in PreK & TK

Saturday, April 2nd | 9:30am-12:40pm

  • Calling All Parents and Guardians!

Click below to learn more about the workshops and register.

Windows and Mirrors

Facebook Post & Caption by Candice Bersola-Vallejos

My new “World in the Classroom” area and writing center!

When I was trained in the SEAL (Sobrato Early Academic Language) Model, we were introduced to the importance of “mirrors and windows”…through multicultural and inclusive books and through the love of reading! “Mirrors” are books that are reflections of ourselves and “windows” are books that allow us to see, look, and understand the lives of all of those around us!!!

I’ve read each of these books to my daughter, Morgan, and now I’m excited for my students to explore, appreciate, understand and love one another because our diversity is what makes us so special and great!!!

It makes us feel extra proud we see our SEAL-trained teachers putting into practice what they learn. Teacher Candice Bersola-Vallejos, posted this photo on Facebook to show how she’s providing her students with cultural and linguistic affirming education. Let’s show Candice some LOVE – Like, Comment, and Share her Facebook post!

Are you interested in learning more about the “mirrors and windows” practice?
Click on SEAL Tools to find the FREE Literature of “Mirrors and Windows” Biography: A series of wonderful books to be used in a classroom that addresses gender, race, economic class and family structures in order to provide windows out to the world and mirrors for students to see themselves.
You can find other educator resources as well!

SEAL Staff Having an Impact

SEAL’s Program Manager & District Relations Administrator, Charice Guerra, was appointed to the state’s Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) for a four-year term. This Commission advises the State Board of Education on critical matters related to curriculum and instruction. California is lucky to have Charice’s expertise and SEAL is proud that one of our own is championing the needs of DLL/EL students. Congratulations, Charice!

Looking for your next career opportunity?

SEAL is looking for our next Program Specialist who will deliver professional development to educators across the state.

Apply Now!

SEAL 2022 February Newsletter2023-04-06T13:17:03-07:00

You’re invited! Webinar series for PreK-3rd educators of Multilingual Learners

2023-04-06T13:19:51-07:00

SEAL and Early Edge California have partnered to present a three-part webinar series this spring 2022 for PreK-3rd educators of Multilingual Learners (MLs). These sessions will highlight three of the key instructional strategy areas featured in the Multilingual Learning Toolkit:

  1. Family engagement
  2. Supporting MLs’ oral language development
  3. Supporting MLs’ home language development

The Toolkit is an online hub featuring a vetted selection of research-based resources and best practices specifically for educators, administrators, and teacher education faculty whose work supports young Multilingual Learners. It is the result of a collaborative effort that includes researchers, practitioners, advocacy organizations, state agencies, and philanthropic organizations from California and across the nation.

All webinars will take place via Zoom from 4:00-5:00 p.m. (PST).

Session 1: Partnering with Families to Affirm Children’s Languages, Cultures & Identities will be conducted in English on March 2nd and in Spanish on March 29th.

Session 2: Supporting Multilingual Learners’ Oral Language Development highlights the various roles early childhood educators play in supporting young children’s oral language development and is scheduled for April 21st.

Session 3: Supporting Multilingual Learners’ Home Language Development will focus on essential strategies and practices educators can use to create a welcoming learning environment that supports bilingualism and a child’s connection to their home language. This webinar will be held on May 12th.

Hosted by Early Edge California, the webinar series will be led by our fantastic SEAL Program Team:

  • Patricia Montes Pate, Program Coordinator
  • Ana Marisol Sanchez, Program Specialist; and
  • Cory Wechsler, Program Coordinator

For more information and to register for these free webinars, please visit the registration page.

Register Now

You’re invited! Webinar series for PreK-3rd educators of Multilingual Learners2023-04-06T13:19:51-07:00

Commentary on Governor’s Budget

2023-04-06T13:29:40-07:00

Dear Partners,

Last week, Governor Newsom unveiled his 2022-23 budget that marshals historic levels of resources to support the education and care of California children. This budget aims to meet the unprecedented challenges these last two years have brought about. If these investments are implemented in thoughtful and strategic ways, the impact for our state could be tremendous.

This budget is also the result of the relentless advocacy by the education equity community. SEAL is proud to support their budget advocacy with our research, policy analysis, and learnings from well over a decade of working with our partners to bring forth asset-based educational equity in their schools and systems.

I joined several of my colleagues across the state in providing commentary for EdSource’s yearly column about the Governor’s Early Education and K12 budgets. As an organization that works to center the assets and needs of Dual Language/English Learners (DLLs/ELs), we were encouraged to see dedicated funding to support and prioritize our students.

 

EdSource asked “What among the governor’s proposals will most advance students’ recovery from the pandemic and why?”

  • Early Ed: “Universal TK expansion is the result of many years of advocacy and we’re proud California is making it a reality. High-quality universal TK starts at the classroom level so we applaud the Governor’s proposal to reduce the student-to-adult ratios. The additional funding to the State Preschool Program to provide support, training, and investments to better serve Dual Language Learners (DLLs) – 60% of children age 5 and under in California – sends a message that we value the diversity of our state. That support must prioritize the development of home language if we are to be culturally and linguistically asset-based.”
  • K12: “This budget prioritizes the students who need the most support for an equitable recovery. The investments in Early Literacy are encouraging and critical to addressing the unfinished learning caused by the pandemic. Effective literacy coaches and reading specialists who can support literacy and biliteracy instruction in culturally and linguistically affirming ways are an essential component of education equity in California. Additionally, we’re pleased to see funding to create and expand multilingual school and classroom libraries offering culturally and linguistically relevant texts. This sends a strong message that in our state we embrace and elevate multilingualism and biliteracy.”

 

The priorities included in this year’s education budget are a good start, but more can and should be done. DLL/ELs, children from immigrant families, and children living in low-income households are among those who have been hardest hit by the health and economic consequences of the pandemic. They are also among the students most likely to have missed out on learning due to remote learning challenges and other school and family disruptions. That is why we believe that an equitable recovery for all starts with ensuring Preschool through 12th grade educators receive robust support and professional learning opportunities required to meet the needs of all students, especially DLLs and ELs.

 

EdSource asked, “What priority should have been in the budget but wasn’t?”

  • Early Ed: “Sixty percent (60%) of children 5 and under in California are Dual Language Learners (DLLs). The future success of our state depends on how well we support these children, yet most early educators have not received the support and infrastructure they need to ensure our DLLs succeed. We need additional and sustained investments – not just one-time funding – so early childhood educators and administrators can build professional learning systems that transform classrooms to better serve all students, especially our DLLs. Furthermore, all investments in professional learning, particularly those proposed for early literacy, should center the cultural and linguistic assets of our children.”
  • K12: “Transforming classrooms to be inclusive, asset based, and ignite learning for all students will require long-term investments that build equity-focused professional learning systems. We need investments that address the major barriers that currently exist– lack of substitute teachers, lack of time for teacher collaboration and planning, and inconsistent resources for instructional coaching. Without addressing these, we run the risk of wasting the historic resources available at this time. Furthermore, ongoing investments are needed to center multilingual learners, expand dual language programs, and address the bilingual teacher shortage if we are to realize our vision of a strong, diverse, multilingual California.”

 

As the budget process moves forward, we look forward to supporting our ed equity advocacy partners to ensure that the needs of DLLs/ELs are centered in the budget decision-making process. Our students and families are counting on all of us to be their voices in Sacramento.

Onward,
Anya Hurwitz

Commentary on Governor’s Budget2023-04-06T13:29:40-07:00

SEAL Winter Quarterly Newsletter

2023-04-06T13:43:21-07:00

Dear SEAL Partners,

I had hoped to be writing this Winter Newsletter under better circumstances. Yet here we are nearly two years since the pandemic began, and this latest COVID surge has us feeling like we’ve taken a very big step back. But, we’ve been here before, and just like before, I have faith we’ll get through this together.

What’s important to remember during times like this are the lessons we’ve learned along the way. Throughout 2021, much of SEAL’s work focused on capturing those learnings and sharing them with all of you. From the release of the SEAL Evaluation and Pandemic Recovery briefs to all our professional learning webinars and participation on various panel discussions, this year has been filled with sharing lessons big and small.

None of this would have been possible without our partner educators, who worked tirelessly over the spring and fall semesters to ensure that our returning students were safe and supported in their transition back to in-person learning. The ongoing persistence of this pandemic makes our partnerships and work together evermore critical and consequential.

In the coming year, we’ll continue to provide the high-quality professional development we’re known for as well as the research, tools and resources that educators and advocates rely on. We’re also excited to build out new work as part of our new 2021-2025 strategic plan.
Here’s a preview of what’s to come in 2022:

  • New Professional Development in LAUSD. SEAL is proud to announce that we will participate in 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. Learn more about the Purposeful Engagement in Academic Rigor and Language Learning (PEARLL) project that will serve 166 current teachers, district and site leaders across 25 sites in this EdSource article.
  • SEAL Evaluation Case Studies. Last October, SEAL released a set of briefs on our multi-year evaluation that set out to determine whether SEAL works when replicated across multiple districts in different regions of California. The answer is yes: SEAL improved teaching practices and SEAL English Learners demonstrated stronger engagement as well as positive language development and academic outcomes. In March, we will release a series of case studies that go deep into three districts’ process of fully embracing the SEAL model and how they implemented the model in ways that continue to transform classrooms.
  • Growing SEAL’s work. SEAL completed a new strategic planning process that will focus on broadening our work with California school systems and deepening our work to change the educational ecosystem. We will continue our comprehensive Full SEAL Model implementation, while also offering the field new “Designs for Change” that meet systems and educators where they are to build the foundations for deeper instructional transformation and center the assets and needs of our students. Within the broader educational ecosystem, we will more intentionally share our expertise with policymakers, system leaders, educators, and other education organizations; this will reinforce the work we’re doing in schools and contribute to the profound systems-level change needed for every Dual Language/English Learner in California to have the education they deserve.

While we’ve intentionally planned our work in the coming months, the pandemic has taught us the value of being nimble and adaptable to the real-time needs of the educators we serve, and we’ll continue to do just that. Our deepest appreciation goes out to teachers and school staff for their continued commitment to Dual Language/English Learners and families. We’ll be sure to share more updates in the coming months!

In partnership,
Dr. Anya Hurwitz

SEAL Contributes to Improved Teaching and Learning!

Learn how SEAL’s research-based approach can inspire engagement and ignite learning among young English Learners and Dual Language Learners

From 2015 to 2019, Loyola Marymount University’s Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL), in partnership with the Wexford Institute, conducted a rigorous multi-year evaluation of the Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL) model. CEEL and Wexford Institute studied SEAL’s implementation and outcomes in 67 schools in 12 California districts. This multi-year evaluation set out to determine whether SEAL works when replicated across multiple districts in different regions of California. The answer is yes: SEAL improved teaching practices and SEAL English Learners demonstrated stronger engagement as well as positive language development and academic outcomes.
It’s all laid out in our new Evaluation Research Brief and Pandemic Recovery Policy Brief. These shorter briefs, taken from the comprehensive 477-page evaluation, are written for educators, policymakers, and others committed to improving opportunities for ELs and Dual Language Learners (DLLs).

Inside these briefs you’ll learn more about how:

  • SEAL improved teaching and learning
  • SEAL students demonstrated stronger engagement and positive outcomes
  • SEAL strategies and tools can support pandemic recovery

Read the SEAL Evaluation Brief

 

Did you catch our SEAL Evaluation brief webinar?

If you missed the SEAL webinar: Inspiring Engagement & Igniting Learning: SEAL Teaching and Learning Outcomes in 12 School Districts, the webinar recording and our PowerPoint presentation are now available online.

Guest Panelist Superintendent Maldonado-French and Assistant Superintendent Raymond Andry from Mountain View School District shared their journey with implementing SEAL, which has truly transformed their classrooms to better serve English Learner students. They opened up about the challenges and opportunities as they pivoted to virtual learning at the onset of the pandemic, and how they are working with educators to accelerate the learning of their students now that they’ve returned to in-person learning.

Our evaluation and pandemic briefs were highlighted by Leslie Villegas of New America.

Read the blog

 

Save the Date!

Educator Webinar on Resources for Supporting Prek-3rd Multilingual Children!

SEAL is a proud partner of the Multilingual Learning Toolkit developed by Early Edge California. This toolkits supports educators and administrators in meeting the needs of young Multilingual Learners (ML) from preschool – third grade. Early Edge and SEAL will host a three-part series to get our strategies and practices into the hands of early childhood educators. We’ll focus on three of the eleven structural strategies.

To be one of the first to register for this webinar, please complete this form.

March 2, 2022

Part 1: Partnering with Families to Affirm Children’s Languages, Cultures & Identities (en Español)

March 15, 2022

Part 1: Partnering with Families to Affirm Children’s Languages, Cultures & Identities (in English)

April 19, 2022

Part 2: Supporting Multilingual Learners’ Oral Language Development

May 12, 2022

Part 3: Supporting Multilingual Learners’ Home Language Development

To learn more about the Multilingual Learning Toolkit, read this blog by New America that highlights SEAL resources for supporting #DualLanguageLearners.

 

SEAL in the Field

It was a busy Fall! Dr. Anya Hurwitz participated in a rich conversation at this year’s Birth to 12 Water Cooler conference, presented by Advancement Project California.

The 2-day conference assembled an incredible panel of progressive policymakers, organizers, and movement leaders to discuss capitalizing on this once-in-a-generation moment to address the root causes of racial and educational inequity in California through a whole-child approach.

“It’s amazing what can happen to a school culture when it shifts to a systemic focus on deeply engaged learning that is language rich.” Executive Director, Anya Hurwitz

SEAL co-facilitated a conversation with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) as part of their #LearningTuesdays webinar series. The discussion focused on the impact of COVID on DLL/ELs, the benefits of developing home languages, and the ways in which education policy leaders and educators can leverage multilingualism toward the goal of equitable recovery. To access the #LearningTuesday webinars and other CGLR resource click here.

 

Available Recordings

On October 14th, SEAL presented at the San Jose State University Early Childhood Institute Speaker Series on “Centralizing Our Dual-Language Learners: The Power of the Family-School Partnership in Early Childhood Education,” facilitated by program coordinators Ana Marisol Sanchez and Cory Wechsler! This workshop examined how educators and families can partner to create early learning environments that explicitly center children’s languages and identities. The session was recorded and you can access it here.

The California Latino School Boards Association held their annual Unity Summit in November and this year’s theme was ACCELERATING LATINO/A/X STUDENT SUCCESS. SEAL was proud to join Californians Together, CABE, and Advancement Project California on a panel titled Language-Rich and Joyful Learning: Supporting Pandemic Recovery for ELs and DLLs, moderated by San Bernardino School Board Member and lifelong English Learner advocate, Dr. Barbara Flores. The discussion was centered on the promising practices districts can implement that establish and foster relationships, address traumas and other social and emotional needs, and make teaching and learning relevant, affirming, fun, and engaging for students. Watch the panel recording here.

SEAL Partner Spotlight!

SEAL Partner, Jenny Le, from Azusa Unified School District spoke at the U.S. Department of Education webinar in September on the meaningful impact of SEAL’s work, among other important topics! We are proud to spotlight her testimony and applaud the work AUSD educators and school administrators continue to do.

 

Media Highlights!

 

Welcome to SEAL!

Dr. Camille R. Whitney, Research and Evaluation Manager

Dr. Camille R. Whitney joins SEAL as a Research and Evaluation Manager with over ten years of experience in education research and a focus on improving outcomes for underserved populations and ELs in particular. Dr. Whitney works with the Director of Research & Evaluation to manage SEAL’s research and evaluation activities. This includes supporting and co-leading investigations of the efficacy of the SEAL model, as well as high quality EL instruction in general. Dr. Whitney began her career in education as a high school mathematics teacher. She later served as an education research analyst at Child Trends and Head of Research at Mindful Schools. Before joining SEAL in 2021, she worked in various roles at the San Francisco Zen Center including supporting their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. She received her Ph.D. in Education Policy and the Economics of Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2016.

 

Sarah Valencia, Trustee, SEAL Board of Directors

SEAL welcomes Sarah Valencia as its newest member of the Board of Directors. A dedicated business leader and financial executive, Sarah Valencia has cultivated an extensive background in finance management, accounting, tax preparation, and operations oversight throughout her 15+ year career with Silicon Valley Community Foundation, including serving as Senior Vice President of Finance from 2014 to present. Ms. Valencia currently serves as a contributing member of the management team for one of the largest community foundations in the nation, with over $10B in total assets and $1.4B in awarded grants. She formulates successful operational strategies, leads a top-tier finance team, and is the catalyst of innovative systems and processes to support growth and deliver a sustainable infrastructure. Committed to education, Ms. Valencia also serves on the boards of The Foundation for Hispanic Education and Latino Education Advancement Foundation. Sarah Valencia earned her BS in commerce from Santa Clara University with a major in finance and a minor in Spanish and is a certified public accountant (CPA).

 

SEAL Winter Quarterly Newsletter2023-04-06T13:43:21-07:00

New Federal grant to deliver and research SEAL Professional Development in LAUSD

2023-04-06T13:51:56-07:00

Dear SEAL Partners,

I am writing to share some exciting news.

SEAL is proud to announce that we will participate in 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.

Our partnership is funded by a $3 million National Professional Development grant to deliver and research SEAL’s evidence-based professional learning for teachers, coaches, district and school leaders over five years. Furthermore, this project builds upon an initial National Professional Development grant, Project ROYAL, and will support rolling the SEAL model up to grades 4 and 5 in those schools. The project represents an amazing opportunity to ensure the children of L.A. have access to learning that is culturally and linguistically affirming and asset based, and that we can continue to learn about the most impactful professional development experiences supporting educators in LAUSD and beyond who are doing the complex work of equity-focused schooling.

The Purposeful Engagement in Academic Rigor and Language Learning (PEARLL) project will serve 166 current teachers, district and site leaders across 25 sites, and is guided by three goals:

  • improving and increasing the use of evidence/research-based strategies in TK-fifth grade classrooms
  • engaging families in literacy activities with their children; and
  • creating a pipeline of newly authorized bilingual teachers

We are proud to partner with LMU’s Center for Equity for English Learners and LAUSD on this important project. Please sign up for our newsletter to hear about what we are learning along the way and ensure you receive all our updates.

Sincerely,

Anya Hurwitz
Executive Director

New Federal grant to deliver and research SEAL Professional Development in LAUSD2023-04-06T13:51:56-07:00
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