Dear Friends,
It is an exciting time for English learners in the State of California. We have a new Governor who committed $2.4 billion to early childhood and a new State Superintendent who believes in investing in English learners.
Here at SEAL (Sobrato Early Academic Learning) we are embracing the moment to continue putting English learners front and center. I am proud to announce our new nonprofit, independent status. We are deeply grateful to the Sobrato Family Foundation for their support over the past 10 years, and their commitment to our success in the future. The foundation leadership has given us the room to experiment and hone the SEAL model to have an outsized impact on how English Learners learn a new language while retaining their native language. The results speak for themselves: SEAL has reached 50,000 students and trained 1,600 teachers in over 100 elementary schools across 21 school districts, and in over 130 preschool classrooms across 24 preschool local educational agencies throughout the state.
As an independent organization, our mission will stay the same: to put English Learners at the heart of California’s education system. We will grow our work by partnering with more school districts, advocating for state-level changes that focus on English learners’ needs, and supporting implementation of the English Learner Roadmap.
We are thrilled to continue this journey with you. If this is your first introduction to SEAL, welcome — we look forward to partnering with you at this key moment to ensure success for all of our state’s English Learners.
Sincerely,
Anya Hurwitz
Executive Director
SEAL
