5 Year Anniversary Reflection: Patricia's Journey of Biliteracy and Collaboration with SEAL

As we continue to celebrate SEAL’s five-year anniversary as a nonprofit and more than 15 years supporting multilingual learners, we look back on moments that helped shape our journey.

In this special reflection, SEAL Senior Manager, Patricia Montes, shares her memories from a transformative seven-day professional learning institute trip in 2018 with her SEAL colleagues. During this trip, they immersed themselves in valuable literacy strategies aimed at supporting young children. Patricia’s reflections highlight the meaningful school visits, engagements with master educators, and some of the innovative strategies have been embedded into the SEAL approach for dual language classrooms. We invite you to watch her story and read the excerpts that capture this pivotal experience.

In her own words:

A Cherished Memory
One of my most cherished memories in SEAL was traveling with my colleagues, Heather and Joanna, in the summer of 2018 to attend a 7-day professional learning institute in Puebla, Mexico where we were immersed in the comprehensive, biliteracy model, called Literacy Squared.  

We were able to both learn about and experience first-hand, valuable literacy strategies designed to support young children.

Engaging with Local Educators
As part of the institute we had the opportunity to visit two local elementary schools and observe master teachers implementing a variety of strategies designed to support students’ reading and writing development.

It was so powerful to be able to converse with the teachers, students, coaches, and administrators to learn more about their educational approaches and engage in intellectual discussions about how we can use these strategies to support ALL students in the United States, especially those whose families immigrate from Mexico.

Building Lasting Partnerships
It’s exciting to know that as a result of this 7-day experience, SEAL has built a close partnership with the amazing researchers: Dr. Kathy Escamilla, Dr. Sue Hopewell, and Dr. Jody Slavick and has worked closely on multiple fronts.

Creating Resources for Educators
We have integrated Literacy Squared’s TheDictado and Asi se Dice strategies into our model and draw upon their guidance for Holistic Bilingual Assessments.  

We have also partnered to create high-quality, instructional videos of these strategies that are accessible to all on our SEAL YouTube channel and have been used by educators nationwide.  

Pride in Our Mission
I am truly honored and grateful to work for an organization that is committed to providing Emergent Bilinguals with quality instruction that is culturally and linguistically responsive and is equally committed to the professional learning and development of its staff members.

Explore SEAL Resources ‍

Dive deeper into bilingual education and supporting emergent bilingual students
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• TheDictado video on YouTube: Strategy that can be used to build foundational skills in both Spanish and English, and includes narration by Literacy Squared experts Dr. Kathy Escamilla and Dr. Sue Hopewell.
• Asi se Dice video on YouTube: Strategy for bilingual students in grades 3 and higher that engages them in working collaboratively in and across Spanish and English
• Centering English Learner/Emergent Bilingual Students in Literacy Research and Instruction: Offers an in-depth analysis of the evolving discourse around the science of reading, particularly in relation to English Learner/Emergent Bilingual students
• Building the Supply of Bilingual Teachers in California: Examines the work of a consortium of California’s local education agencies in partnership with SEAL, funded by a California Department of Education grant to support LEAs to grow their own bilingual teachers.