SANTA CLARA, CA — Santa Clara County Office of Education is announcing its partnership with Californians Together, SEAL and Loyola Marymount University’s Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL), which has recently been awarded a $5 million Educator Workforce Incentive Grant from the California Department of Education to support implementation of the California English Learner Roadmap Policy.
These organizations will work together over the next three years to help county offices of education implement the Roadmap. Passed in 2017, the Roadmap is designed to guide systemic change to improve education for the 1.2 million English learners who attend school in California.
This new collaboration, EL RISE! (English Learner Roadmap Implementation for System Excellence), connects three organizations with 20 county offices of education* to help them increase their capacity to meet the needs of English learners; work with Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to build knowledge and develop local implementation plans; host professional development for educators; and help with technical assistance and capacity building. The 20 county offices of education collectively serve 76.7% of California’s English learners.
“In the wake of the pandemic and subsequent learning challenges for students, we have been presented with an opportunity for educators to further elevate and support the needs of English learners,” said Dr. Mary Ann Dewan, County Superintendent of Schools at the Santa Clara County Office of Education. “We are extremely proud to partner with Californians Together on this vital work and grateful to develop partnerships with 19 county offices across the state. This joint effort will further the preparation and advancement of English learners who can fully participate and contribute to our global, diverse, multilingual twenty-first century world.”
EL RISE! will facilitate local cross-sector teams to help each county become familiar with the roadmap as well as job-specific professional development strands for leaders and administrators, teachers, and for bilingual and dual language teachers. The team will also partner with stakeholders such as board members, parents and higher education faculty to participate and advise. The sessions developed by this team will focus on topics like improving classroom practice, creating an asset-oriented school climate, and research and demographics on the English Learner population in California.
EL RISE! is focused on both supporting educators in developing the skills and knowledge they need to deliver powerful instruction and services to English learners, but also on systems change. To that end, EL RISE! will also make work sessions available to help LEAs with things like developing English learner aligned LCAPs, master plans, data dashboards, and developing other resources for the field.
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Californians Together is a statewide coalition that advises state and national policy makers and mobilizes communities to protect and promote access to quality education for the state’s English learners.
SEAL (Sobrato Early Academic Language) is a research-based English learner and bilingual education model. SEAL has been working with educators and school leaders from more than 100 elementary schools and 130 preschool classrooms in California for 12 years.
Center for Equity for English Learners at Loyola Marymount University (CEEL) since 2006, enriches and supports the work of educators, schools, school systems, educational/community partners, and policy makers through an assets-based approach.
* Collaborating County Offices of Education:
- Anchors: Los Angeles, Tulare, Sacramento/Yolo
- Partners: Contra Costa, Kern, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Diego, San Mateo, Riverside
- Participating: Butte, Imperial, King, Merced, Orange, San Joaquin, Solano, Stanislaus, Ventura
Santa Clara County Office of Education Working collaboratively with school and community partners, the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) is a regional service agency that provides instructional, business, and technology services to the 31 school districts of Santa Clara County. The County Office of Education directly serves students through special education programs, alternative schools, Head Start and State Preschool programs, migrant education, and Opportunity Youth Academy. The SCCOE also provides academic and fiscal oversight and monitoring to districts in addition to the 22 Santa Clara County Board of Education authorized charter schools.