October 2023 • Issue 72 • California Association for Bilingual Education

Important Upcoming Dates in this Newsletter:

October 5—ELD Teacher Academy Module 2, Part 1

October 7—DL Teacher Academy Module 2

October 19—ELD Teacher Academy Module 2, Part 2

November 2—Deadline for CABE 2023 Extra Early Bird Registration

November 14—Deadline for CABE 2024 Awards

November 28—Session 1 of Fall 2023 Virtual Racial Equity Series

As we look forward to CABE 2024 in Anaheim, we also take a look back at conversations from CABE 2023 in Long Beach. Over the next few months, we are releasing a video series that shines a spotlight on some of the incredible stories within our field. These videos* feature inspiring narratives, in-depth interviews, and remarkable experiences shared by the bilingual education community. We believe that highlighting these stories can foster a deeper connection within our field and inspire one another in our respective journeys. This video series was filmed and produced in collaboration with Summit K12, a CABE 2023 sponsor. We hope you enjoy these first six videos from the CABE TV 2023 playlist on YouTube.

*The opinions shared herein do not necessarily reflect those of CABE or Summit K12.

CABE Legislative Advocate Report

by Jennifer Baker

• State Confirms State Board of Education Members
• Budget Update
• Senate Leadership Transitioning
• CABE/Californians Together 2023 Co-Sponsored Legislation Update
• CABE-Supported Legislation Moving Forward
• Department of Finance Report Moderate Changes

Born in South Vietnam to her father, a civil engineer, and her mother, a homemaker, Dr. Annie BichLoan Duong was the oldest of seven siblings. When communists took over the country, her father was sent to a re-education camp for more than six years. Her family moved a lot when Annie was young, but she lived the longest in Saigon until 1985, when she, her father, and half of her siblings fled communism by boat to Indonesia, paying for their passage in 24K gold. Unfortunately, because they could not afford to take the entire family and because her brother, who had tried to escape previously, was still imprisoned, her mother and two other siblings stayed behind. Once safely in Indonesia, Annie, her family, and other “boat people” moved through different islands for more than 5 months before settling in the Galang refugee camp. Their father's pre-communist-era government work qualified them for refugee status in the US, and after three months of survival English classes, they arrived in San Francisco in 1986.

Annie’s family was sponsored by the Central Methodist Church and resided in Stockton. She never wanted to leave her homeland but was expected to in order to care for her younger siblings. While Annie realized they were lucky to be accepted into the US—"Mission Accomplished"—she missed her country and was frustrated and unhappy. Her experience when she first came to America reflected a common Vietnamese immigrant saying, "You have ears, but you are deaf. You have a mouth, but you are mute.” 

Wanting to support her family and friends in both Vietnam and the refugee camp, she immediately began working in the fields, picking fruits and vegetables in California and Oregon. When the season was over, Annie received cash aid from the government and was encouraged to begin training to learn secretarial skills. She wanted to be a doctor or nurse but was told that her English wasn't good enough. She entered community college and began taking mostly ESL classes, with her first 12 units paid by her sponsors. She became a teacher's aide in a local district while continuing the night classes that led to her receiving an associate degree. She later completed her BA in Liberal Studies and teaching credential at CSU Stanislaus and accepted a position teaching ELD, Science, and Math in the same middle school where she had worked as a paraprofessional. Later, she moved on to the district office as the language development facilitator, training paraprofessionals to conduct EL assessments and teachers on how to work with ELs.

In 2001, she became a coordinator in the Multilingual Education Department at the San Joaquin County Office of Education. When SJCOE became a regional hub for WRITE, she became a lead trainer and coordinated the writing program for teachers of ELs in Northern California. Annie continued her education with an MA in Multilingual Education from CSU Stanislaus and began teaching multilingual education teacher candidates at various universities. Encouraged by her professors to pursue a doctorate, she earned an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of the Pacific in 2012.

Annie's CABE journey began when she presented at CABE 1999, and she has presented at the annual conference every year since. In 2016, she joined the CABE Board, where she served for five years until she termed out, and she recently returned to this position in 2023. Annie also served CAFABE (California Association for Asian-Pacific Bilingual Education) as a board member and later as board president. Annie says she has remained involved in CABE in order to stay current on multilingual education, meet other leaders in the field, and impact the education of multilingual learners, such as herself, as evidenced by her master thesis, "Are Heritage Language and Culture Important to Vietnamese Elementary and Middle School Students?" She was mentored in her master's work by Dr. Fay Shin and her professor's mentor, Dr. Stephen Krashen, who still refers to her as his "grand student." When asked about her passion for advocacy, Annie replied, "I hope to use my experience as a first-generation immigrant and English learner who arrived here in her 20s to help others who are learning English as a second language. If I can do it, anyone can do it. Our ELs need to see examples of people from the same background and in the same situation as themselves who have succeeded, so they can see that it's possible."

Now that she's completed her doctorate work and her kids are grown, Annie has time to give back to her community. She is very involved in CABE's Asian Languages Institute and Asian Languages Roundtable. In 2015, she was contacted by the Vietnamese community in Stockton to help start a Vietnamese school and is now the founding principal of the Van Lang Vietnamese Language School, which provides Saturday classes taught entirely by volunteers.

In her free time, Annie enjoys bargain shopping, reading romance novels, listening to music, singing, and dancing. She loves visiting family, including her two sons, Kevin (32), a company manager of online Amazon sales, Kyle (27), a nursing home cook, her granddaughter, Dhesselyn (16), her two senior dogs, Johnnie and Lily, and puppy Lola.

Dr. David Calvo was born in Miami to a family of Cuban immigrants who, like their Spanish ancestors, had left their homeland to escape communism. David was the youngest of four siblings. His father, a warehouse worker, died of cancer shortly after David finished high school, and his mother, before becoming a homemaker, was a typesetter. Both parents worked for a publisher and prioritized education for their children. David grew up surrounded by books and was the only sibling to obtain a college degree. As the youngest child, he remembers feeling intense pressure “to make it.”

David started kindergarten as an English learner but picked up the language quickly. From a young age, he found language acquisition enjoyable. He studied Russian and German using audio cassette materials he found in a thrift store and later studied French and American Sign Language. It was when he started tenth grade that he became aware of and shocked by student diversity, including subcultures, tattoos, apparel extremes, and high school cliques. Having attended a small Christian school for grades K-9, he had a relatively sheltered experience until then. Unlike his peers, he was not exposed to movies, video games, and other pop culture. His world was limited to home, school, and church, and he remembers being told repeatedly, “You need to stay home and study.” His early high school days were a little rough. He felt like he didn’t belong, but he really wanted to and was driven to join clubs and participate in activities to make friends. He later became known for his school leadership and community service and soon was one of the more popular students in the school.

Thanks to career technical education, he graduated high school as a certified nursing assistant who hoped to become a doctor. Through affirmative action, he received a full scholarship to study pre-med at a college in Virginia but quickly realized that because he had missed vital math and science foundational classes in high school, he was not adequately prepared for this pursuit. This was also the first time he had experienced discrimination as a Latino. He left before the end of the first semester and returned to Miami to enroll in community college. Having no guidance regarding course selection, he kept taking classes in whichever topics interested him, regardless of actual degree requirements. Consequently, he spent five years there before leaving as a very “well-rounded” licensed nurse. He then enrolled at Florida International University, where he completed a bachelor’s in public administration with the goal of becoming an elected official and a change agent for civil and social rights.

Before becoming a teacher, he worked as a paraprofessional at the same high school and in the same nursing assistant program class he had previously attended. He supported students from the classroom to their clinical experiences in acute and long-term settings. David also worked as a nurse and in his dedication to public health, has supported the Florida State Board of Opticianry for 20 years. He served as the board chair for five years, regularly meeting with other state leaders to oversee and plan public health in the state. Since moving to California, he has continued to serve on one of the board’s committees which reviews complaints against licensees and determines the legal sufficiency of alleged violations of practice.

From health science, he moved into various roles throughout the district. As an educator, his first assignment was teaching science in a middle school, where he was also the union steward, taking an active role in collective bargaining and state advocacy. He left to be the assistant principal at a 6-12 charter school, becoming its principal the following year. In 2010, he started supporting California charter school development. He later became a principal of a Los Angeles 6-12 charter school. Cumulatively, he has overseen a diverse array of educational programs.

Within the elementary setting, he led a Spanish language immersion program as well as voluntary prekindergarten. At the secondary level, he led a school that integrated arts and business, as well as operates greater Los Angeles’ only known high school radio station. Another initiative was the introduction of in-classroom online learning for secondary school students in 2009, a pioneering concept at the time. His students also had the opportunity to participate in a cadet military academic program, taking advantage of the nearby Air Force base for flight training and licensing. Along his professional journey, David has been active in the consulting space, supporting schools and leaders as well as advocating for equitable initiatives. For example, during COVID-19, food security for families was a serious concern. He and his staff set up mobile food services for families and community members out of vans on a street corner. Due to health regulations, the food had to be pre-packaged, but families were not culturally accustomed to this. Community dialogue influenced a food service shift to groceries and fresh produce that they could use to prepare meals themselves instead. Consumption increased notably.

In February 2023, David came to CABE as the Director of Family and Community Engagement because "bilingual education has always been near and dear to my heart." After receiving his master’s in educational leadership at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, he obtained a Global Ed.D. at the University of Southern California. His doctoral program required him to study onsite in various countries to learn about education, educational politics, standards, and goals around the world. His dissertation focused on English learners and their sense of belonging. The majority of schools he has worked for had high numbers of English learners. Most notably, 90% of the students at his last school were ever-ELs—the highest figures across regional secondary schools. 

In his free time, David is civically active serving on multiple boards, presenting at conferences, and mentoring other educators. He also enjoys gardening, feeding local birds and wildlife, fitness, snorkeling, learning new things, and spending time with his family.

Important Dates and Reminders for Chapter Leaders

Don't miss out on your chapter rebate!

Chapter financial reports are due by Friday, October 13th.

Click here for information and the required forms.

Rebates can be used for scholarships and other chapter activities, but to receive them, your financial reports must be received by the deadline.

It's almost time to apply for the Chapter of the Year Award!

The deadline to apply is October 27th. Chapter leaders, check your inbox for the link and more information.

Have you updated your chapter webpage lately?

Your chapter's webpage on www.gocabe.org is where the CABE community goes for chapter information.

• Go here to see if it needs updating.
• Send your webpage updates to us here.

CABE Pepperdine welcomes new faculty liaison, Dr. Kevin Wong, and pays tribute to

Dr. Reyna Garcia-Ramos’ 17 years of service.

Check out our latest chapter newsletter...

• Follow SFABE on Facebook
• BECOME A CABE MEMBER & write in Chapter 23
• SFABE Board Report & Calendar
• SFABE at LATA Kickoff
• CABE 2024 & CABE's Racial Equity Series
• TAKE ACTION: Call to Support Indigenous People's Day, ALSO Support Bilingual Learners
• RESOURCES: Rethinking Columbus, Banned Books
• NEWS: Sunrise Services on Alcatraz, Indigenous Peoples Day, SF Latino Film Festival
• Links from past newsletters
• SFABE Board Info

Room to Read’s STEAM-Powered Careers collection presents 10 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics-themed books to inspire first through third graders about the wide variety of groundbreaking and exciting STEAM careers that they can start exploring right now.

Created in collaboration with scientists, staff, and faculty from the University of Southern California (USC), the collection explores topics ranging from polar science to gastroenterology to nanotechnology and more (in English and in Spanish).

Books feature a trio of fun characters and their animal friends, with each title illustrating a day in the life of a working USC scientist, many of whom come from underrepresented communities in STEAM. Each book highlights the present and future of a unique field and offers resources and more information for classroom use.

Click this link for FREE digital copies of the books, lesson plans, and interviews with the scientists: https://www.roomtoread.org/steam.

Click the image above to go to the website.

Contact the editor: Laurie Miles, Communications Coordinator, laurie@gocabe.org