AREAS OF FOCUS

The time has come again for us to step up and stand with our immigrant families. As the new school year starts, let’s stand together to make it clear that this mean-spirited attack against families that need support does not match the values that this country was built on. #ProtectImmigrantFamilies

Para lograr que nuestros hijos hablen y escriban en dos idiomas, es importante que aprendan en programas bilingües. www.alasyvoz.org #éxito #oportunidad #sueños

Our report is out “Who are the Recipients of the State Seal of Biliteracy?” Visit our website to download the full report! . . . #caltog #californianstogether #statesealofbiliteracy #biliteracy #bilingual #bilingualed #EL #global2030 #multilingualism

Celebrating Xilonin! #anotheryearwiser

Three amazing educators and leaders presenting at the Unidos US Policy and Practice: Serving California’s English Learners convening. Our State Board of Education member Feliza Ortiz-Licón, Cal Tog’s Director of Policy Initiatives Martha Hernandez, and Dr. Anya Hurwitz from the SEAL: Sobrato Early Academic Language Model

The Cal Tog team keeps growing! And celebrating! This time it was Erika who turned one year younger...

“It’s a new day!”, says Shelly Spiegel-Coleman, reflecting on how our coalition has grown and how this reflects the growing attention to the needs of English Learners. . . #englishlearners #bilingual #biliteracy #anewday

Today in Santa Barbara County, a great group of teachers and administrators participated in our Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Students workshop.

Welcome to our new State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond!

Cal Tog welcomes our new Superintendent @tonythurmond2018!!!

Together, We Make a Difference for English Learners!

Together, We Make a Difference for English Learners! Here are some highlights of our work this year.

Our #20thAnniversary Gala would not have been the same without the amazing Tony Plana our M.C.He is one of the most recognizable Latino actors of stage and screen and has directed, produced, and starred in more than 60 major films. He is known for his starring role as Ignacio Suarez on the hit ABC show, Ugly Betty and starring in Showtime’s original series “Resurrection Boulevard". Tony was the co-founder and director of the East LA Classic Theatre for over 25 years. His driving mission has been to create a unique, educational experience for an ethnically diverse population of English learning students resulting in critical thinking, confidence and self-reliance. We are so grateful to Tony for making sure our evening was memorable! Gracias, Tony!

The last Champion we honored at our #20thAnniversaryGala was a surprise, even to her. Our Executive Director, @Shelly Spiegel-Coleman, was introduced by @LaurieOlsen with these words: “It’s been Shelly’s vision, diligence, sublime sense of diplomacy and strategy, and her ability to inspire and mobilize people to action that has moved Cal Tog and our movement forward. Shelly is an advocate in it’s truest sense - always … Shelly models for US – both how to do it, and that it can be done. She is a master at shaping the hard and critical questions that deliver a push, but with an extraordinary ability to always recognize and appeal to the humanity and best in adversaries. How many of us when we face a task of advocacy and need to stand up and speak out, try to conjure up Shelly, imagine how SHE would do it, try to find the Shelly in ourselves? And when Shelly calls, when Shelly taps us on the shoulder, we step up – because we trust that when she asks it’s needed work to be done, and we somehow end up believing, seeing ourselves through her eyes, and thinking – yes, perhaps I CAN do this… maybe I am NEEDED, perhaps I have something to contribute, perhaps I AM up do doing this…. And through it all, we discover whole new strengths in ourselves…. Because Shelly asked us, because Shelly trusted us, because Shelly saw it was in us to do so.” What a Champion!

We honored @Martha Zaragoza-Diaz at our 20th Anniversary, as our Relentless Warrior, our lobbyist, for her years advocating for quality education and equity for English Learners on behalf of both the California Association for Bilingual Education and the Californians Together coalition. She is courageous, dedicated and fearless and we could not have accomplished what we have these past twenty years without her. Martha has earned an amazing reputation at the state, with so many accomplishments, the most recent being the EL Roadmap. For two years in a row, California’s English learners received $30 million dollars for supplementary materials aligned to the standards thanks to her. Martha has been relentless, knowing her north star, focused on what is best for students and their families. She is not only our hero but a hero for future generations of English learners!

Senator Ricardo Lara, soon to be sworn in as CA Insurance Commissioner, was honored with the Proposition 58 Champion medallion, for his steadfast advocacy for English Learners. His passion for this was born from his own experience, he learned English through bilingual programs and interpreted for his parents, understanding how important learning both languages is for English Learners. His advocacy led him to craft the California Education for a Global Economy Initiative which eventually became the successful #Proposition58 on the November 2016 election, effectively turning the tide from the old English-only policy to promoting and encouraging the growth of multilingual programs for all students across California. What powerful advocacy!

At our #20thAnniversary Gala we honored CA Congressmember Julia Brownley as our Seal of Biliteracy Champion. What Californians Together started as a grassroots effort, Brownley, as a State Assemblymember turned into Assembly Bill 815 creating the State Seal of Biliteracy, the first in the nation. Now, 35 other states and Washington DC public schools have followed California’s lead and passed state legislation or policy offering a Seal of Biliteracy to recognizes and honors seniors for their linguistic talents in two or more languages. And now representing California’s 26th District, Congresswoman Brownley, introduced the Biliteracy Education Seal and Teaching (BEST) Act to help states create or improve State Seal of Biliteracy programs. It is an honor to count on her leadership!

We recognized Dr. Laurie Olsen as one of our Champions at our #20thAnniversary Gala, as the Inspirational Leader. Among so many achievements, Laurie broke new ground for the nation when she wrote the widely cited 2010 study, Reparable Harm, Fulfilling the Unkept Promise of Educational Opportunity for California’s Long Term English Learners, which provided the first in-depth look at issues of long-term English learners and galvanized many school districts across the nation to take action. And all through the years, she has been a most steadfast advocate for English Learners.