Supporting Multilingual Learners, a New Resource for Early Childhood Educators, Creating Equitable Conditions for Learning, and More.
CEO Corner: Effective Instruction and Systemic Approaches to Advance Educational Equity for Multilingual Learners
This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Lau v. Nichols , which affirmed the rights of English Learners to receive an equal education. As a result of this decision, policies and programs emerged to address the language needs of students, which over these many years WestEd has contributed to advancing through our research and development and technical assistance .???
With the growing number of English Learners in our nation’s schools and districts, one way we fulfill our mission at WestEd is by serving as partners to educators and leaders who have the opportunity and obligation to ensure that all students who are learning English receive rigorous and effective instruction. We do so by looking to what the evidence says about high-quality instruction and by “zooming out” to take a systems approach to educating English and Multilingual Learners. Decades of existing research tells us clearly what Multilingual Learners need to be successful:??
Building on foundational research on supporting English Learners led by Dr. Aída Walqui , The National Research & Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners at WestEd is currently conducting several studies that seek to further identify ecological solutions to providing equitable learning opportunities. This concept refers to the idea of “nested and interlinked systems that impact the educational experiences of English Learners” and improving them so every student has the opportunity to find their voice and express themselves. This type of systems thinking inspires me because it highlights the relationships between all levels of the education system and how every individual has a role to play in creating pathways so English Learners can reach their full potential in community, college, and career.??
I’ll give an example of a persistent equity issue that requires a nuanced, holistic approach. English Learners make up a disproportionate number of young learners who are referred to special education services for showing signs of a language delay, which can be caused by a number of factors, and is not necessarily due to a disability. We can avoid this over-identification (and subsequent under-identification) by having precise pre-referral policies and multi-tiered systems of support in place that enable teams to correctly identify the right supports and intervene at the right time in students’ educational journeys. In exploring the intersection between language and disability, it makes perfect sense that thinking holistically is our starting point and our compass in guiding our efforts to meet every Multilingual Learner’s unique needs.???
Cultural and linguistic diversity has advantages societally, culturally, and economically, and Multilingual Learners bring many assets to the classroom. Let’s celebrate the importance of multilingualism by leveraging the research, existing and forthcoming, on effective policies and practices that invite students and their families to the table. Cooperation is a universal language, and I hope you’ll join me and the committed experts working at WestEd in advancing our work to positively impact learning outcomes for all.?
News: The Program for Infant/Toddler Care Launches PITC PARS, a New Resource to Support High-Quality Care for Children Ages 0–3. Available now in English, Spanish, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese
Early childhood education professionals and care teachers who work with infants and toddlers can now purchase the highly anticipated program observation and reflection resource from the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC), the Program Assessment and Reflection System (PARS).?
“The PITC PARS offers a way for care providers and educators to reflect on, continue to develop their practice, and support high-quality care in infant and toddler group settings,” says Peter Mangione , Senior Director for Early Childhood Strategic Initiatives and a Senior Managing Director at WestEd.
The tool is designed to guide observation, documentation, and reflection on vital aspects of infant and toddler group care—ranging from caregiving interactions to the physical environment, program policies, and administrative structures.?
Learn more about PITC PARS , available in English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.?
New Peer Collaboratives From WestEd Are Designed to Promote and Sustain Equitable Conditions for Learning and Development??
WestEd is launching new peer collaborative opportunities to help K–12 leaders? improve the conditions of learning, development, and well-being in their educational systems so that students can succeed and thrive.??
WestEd’s new service, Conditions for Learning and Development: Peer Collaboratives for Educational Leaders , includes four year-long collaboratives that will help education leaders develop the mindsets, relationships, policies, and practices that support equitable, and just systems:??
Each collaborative can accommodate teams from six districts or local education agencies (LEAs) and will run from July 2024 to June 2025. Participants will get access to resources, peer learning, networking, workshops, and customized coaching and consulting for themselves, their colleagues, and LEA/district teams.?
Sign up by May 31 to participate in the Peer Collaboratives.?
Looking Ahead to WestEd 2024 Summer Professional Learning
Every year, thousands of teachers and administrators engage in WestEd’s professional learning opportunities, and each year, we hear from participants that the breadth and depth of our expertise makes us a trusted partner in their professional growth.?
Our offerings for school and district leaders and educators cover a range of topics in all content areas for pre-K through high school students, including English Learners and students with disabilities.??
To learn how you can elevate your practice, visit WestEd’s Summer Professional Learning website .?
Upcoming Appearances and Learning Opportunities?
April 17, June 19, and August 21: Save your spot in the Accelerating English Learner Success with Formative Assessment webinar series hosted by the Region 15 Comprehensive Center and the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) at the U.S. Department of Education .?
April 19–23: The California Center for School Climate (CCSC) will host two upcoming webinars about the power of collaboration using school climate data and measuring student well-being using data from the California Healthy Kids Survey. Register .??
April 19–21: Experts from the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) will attend the California Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference and Expo .??
April 22, May 20: Join the Data Integration Support Center (DISC) and Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) for upcoming Unit 1 sessions in the Legal Professional workshop series designed for those who support agencies in data sharing, including analysts, lawyers, technologists, and policymakers. Space is limited, register today .?
April 23, April 25: WestEd researchers and leaders from the San Diego County Office of Education will present a model to design and supplement curriculum for culturally sustaining and responsive English Language Development (ELD) instruction. Register for the webinars .
April 24: The Development of Teacher Expertise in Secondary Contexts to Support English Learners: Preliminary Findings webinar hosted by the National Research & Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners .??
April 25: Sign up for Family and Community Engagement hosted by Rawlin Rosario and Nancy Tiên , the final session of the “Beliefs to Action” webinar series hosted by the Western Educational Equity Assistance Center (WEEAC) .??
We appreciate you for reading and sharing this newsletter with your networks. Drop us a comment with your thoughts about any of the topics we covered in this edition of WestEd 360°! ?