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April 2024 • Issue 78 • California Association for Bilingual Education

Important Dates and Deadlines

  • TODAY!—Contact Legislators to urge them to say No on AB 2222
  • April 4 & 11ELDTA Module 7: Meeting the Language Requirements of CCSS MATH AND NGSS Science Stds.
  • April 6DLTA Module 7 Cross‐Linguistic Transfer in a Dual Language Program | Las transferencias interlingüísticas en el programa de doble idioma
  • April 15— Membership Reception in Riverside at 5:30 pm (Members—check your email for invitation flyer)
  • April 16—CABE Regional Conference in Riverside
  • May 2 & 9ELDTA Module 8: Understanding and Meeting the Critical Needs of Diverse Typologies of ELs
  • May 4DLTA Module 8 Best Practices for Spanish Writing Instruction in a Dual Language Classroom | Las mejores prácticas para la enseñanza de la escritura en español en un aula de educación en dos idiomas
  • May 7CABE Regional Conference in Monterey
  • May 17Online Meeting about Oaxaca Conference https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83643637800
  • June 1Deadline for 2025 Multilingual Educator Submissions
  • June 19-23First Annual Conference on Bilingual Education and Cultures in Oaxaca
  • July 1-3Summer 2024 Dual Language Education Institute in San Diego

Vea la versión en español aquí.


Legislative Action Alert 

Prepared by Jennifer Baker, CABE Legislative Advocate 


CABE and Californians Together are asking our friends and family to contact members of the Assembly Education Committee to urge them to vote “NO” on AB 2222 (Rubio). AB 2222 will limit teacher autonomy and hamper their ability to address individual student needs, particularly for English learners. 


AB 2222 is punitive in its mandate to publicly list the names of teachers and university faculty who complete “state-mandated” professional development. These mandates do not differentiate for teachers and university faculty who have demonstrated actual success with students and do not allow for our professionals to identify the professional learnings that would meet their needs. 



AB 2222 represents an overreach and limits local autonomy. The State Board of Education is responsible for guiding curriculum and instruction; implementation is done best by school districts. 

SAMPLE MESSAGE: 



Hello, my name is _______, and I am asking you to vote no on AB 2222 by Assembly Member Rubio. This bill will limit teacher autonomy and hamper their ability to address individual student needs, particularly for English learners. It represents and overreach and limits local autonomy. Please vote no on AB 2222 when it is heard in the Assembly Education Committee. 


Assembly Education Committee Members


Asm. Al Muratsuchi, Chair (D) (916) 319-2066

assemblymember.muratsuchi@assembly.ca.gov

 

Asm. Megan Dahle (R) (916) 319-2001

assemblymember.dahle@assembly.ca.gov

 

Asm. Dawn Addis (D) (916) 319-2030

assemblymember.addis@assembly.ca.gov

Asm. David Alvarez (D) (916) 319-2080

assemblymember.alvarez@assembly.ca.gov

Asm. Mia Bonta (D) (916) 319-2018

assemblymember.mbonta@assembly.ca.gov

 

Asm. Josh Hoover (R) (916) 319-2007

assemblymember.hoover@assembly.ca.gov

 

Asm. Kevin McCarty (D) (916) 319-2006

assemblymember.mccarty@assembly.ca.gov

CABE AB 2222 Opposition Letter to Asm. Rubio
CABE AB 2222 Opposition Letter to Asm. Fong
CABE AB 2222 Opposition Letter to Asm. Muratsuchi
CABE's "NO ON AB 2222" Webpage

CABE Legislative Advocate Report

by Jennifer Baker


  • CABE Co-sponsored Bills Move to Appropriations Committee
  • Science of Reading Mandated in New Legislation
  • Senate Releases Budget Proposal
  • Asm. Budget Subcommittee 3 on Education Finance Discusses Department of Education
  • CABE Bill Update
  • February Revenues Improve


Read Report
all details here

Sarah Magaña Zepeda was born in Torrance, CA, to the Magaña family: her father, an auto upholsterer; her mother, a homemaker; her grandmother; an older sister; and two younger brothers. Her parents migrated to the US in 1930, and in 2012, the local newspaper did an article on her family, A Torrance tale: One family, four generations, one city. When Sarah was growing up, the population of Torrance was primarily Japanese and Caucasian, with very few Latinos, and she felt very different. Spanish was only spoken at home, with friends, and at frequent tight-knit family gatherings.

When Sarah entered kindergarten as an English learner, it was a "sink or swim" instructional approach, and it wasn't easy. However, her grandmother, who spoke only Spanish, would often say, "Read me a story," and she and her sister would read in English and their grandmother would follow up with questions in Spanish. Her teachers did their best but were not trained in language acquisition strategies. By 4th grade, Sarah no longer wanted to speak Spanish because she wanted to be like the other kids—and she wanted a sandwich for lunch, not a burrito! She remembers her grandmother making this prophetic statement, "One day your Spanish is going to help a lot of people."

Starting in middle school, Sarah had a passion for leadership and ran for office every year but never won. Then in high school, she was elected freshman class president, followed by many other leadership positions, including drill team captain and ASB president in her senior year. After a college tour, she decided to make higher education a goal. After her friends encouraged her to take the SATs with them and she scored well, she told her school counselor that she wanted to go to college. He responded, "Spanish-speaking kids don't go to college" and handed her a brochure for cosmetology school, which she promptly put in the trash after leaving his office, telling herself, "No one is going to tell me what to do with my future."

She started applying to colleges and when she excitedly told her Dad, he responded, "How are you going to pay for it?" Her answer was to get a scholarship to Mount Saint Mary's College. She intended to go into teaching, but since the college had just dropped that major, she took an aptitude test that guided her to the Business Department, where she received a BA in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting. She was very unhappy, and her last year was particularly tough when tuition went up, but her scholarship didn't, prompting her to take on two part-time jobs while carrying 14 credits.

Sarah's first job was in banking, trading stocks for trust accounts. This was not what she wanted to do, so her new husband encouraged her to go back to school. She then attended CSU Bakersfield where she got her teaching credential and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction, while working for a non-profit, the California Council for the Social Studies. She returned to Mt. St. Mary's (now a university) to get an MA in Humanities with an emphasis in History. This was followed by an Ed.D. in Education from USC in 2017 with her dissertation on building academic vocabulary for English learners through professional development. 

Her first teaching job was as a kindergarten teacher in the Palmdale School District, where she has worked for 24 years. The same day that she graduated from USC, she was offered the job of vice principal at Dos Caminos Dual Immersion School, where she has now been the principal for the past 5 years. She loves her job, saying "I see how students can use their languages, how school is a family and a community, and how languages bring people and cultures together. It is gratifying to see how kids who struggled at first are now successful and graduating biliterate. Our staff believes in dual immersion because they see the success. It's great to see kids succeeding on the same path I took. I can see myself and my journey reflected in our community. I see this as part of the legacy of my parents and grandmother."

Sarah first learned about CABE when she accompanied her husband, who worked in the LAUSD Office of Language Acquisition, to a CABE conference where he presented a workshop. She recalls, "Seeing how we support English learner students made a big difference for me. CABE is an extension of what we can become if we are united. We are working towards the same goals and acting as advocates for students and parents. CABE is the voice for those who cannot express their needs and desires, and it makes a huge difference in our community, not just in academics but also in the social-emotional realm." She became involved in the local CABE chapter and its annual conference which hosted over 100 parents last year. After being recruited by other CABE Board members, she was elected the Region V Representative. "Being on the CABE Board brings me much joy. I appreciate the outreach and the recent increased emphasis on other languages and cultures."

Her husband, Ruben, former superintendent of the Keppel Union School District, is now deceased. In her free time, Sarah enjoys reading and spending time with family in California and Colorado, especially with her two nephews and great-nephews and niece. She is also delighted to occasionally receive wedding invitations from her former kindergarten students!

César Chávez Celebration - Th. 3/28, At this event we provided a booth about the Yolo/Woodland Chapter 76 Aspiring Bilingual Teacher Scholarship, the Chapter’s activities, educational information and support for students and parents, and information about how to become a member in our chapter. Free books are given to the children.

Each year CABE Yolo/Woodland Chapter 76 provides at least three scholarships to graduating seniors in the Woodland Joint Unified School District who are pursuing a bilingual teacher credential. This year, the CABE Yolo/Woodland Chapter 76 is also offering the “Aspiring Bilingual Teacher Scholarship” award to the Woodland Community College students too.

Application deadline: Friday, April 6, 2024

For more information and to request the application link, please contact: yolowoodlandcabe76@yahoo.com

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Read SFABE Newsletter

Other items of interest to the CABE community...


WORLD LANGUAGES AND GLOBAL COMPETENCE DAY 2024
Celebrate world languages in education with the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), community partners, and local educators on May 24 at the Inaugural World Languages and Global Competence Day.
The event is designed for world languages educators and administrators (K-12), higher education professionals and students, community partners and others in education with a global vision for students.
  • Workshops will be presented on Spanish language instruction, less commonly taught languages, global competence, the State Seal of Biliteracy and Pathway Awards, the future of education, etc.
  • The event will feature a hybrid session celebrating SDCOE’s Two Shores Intercultural Exchange Program where participants will be able to interact with teachers from San Diego, Spain, France, and the Philippines.
  • The event also features a World Languages Instructional Materials Fair, with a presentation on the World Languages Instructional Materials Adoption Toolkit.
Find more information: http://bit.ly/WLGCDay2024

Comic Corner...

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

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