March 2024 • Issue 77 • California Association for Bilingual Education | |
CABE urgently requests your action today on opposing AB 2222 (Rubio)... | |
|
Vea la versión en español aquí.
Legislative Action Alert
For the Period of March 11-15, 2024
Prepared by Jennifer Baker, CABE Legislative Advocate
CABE is asking our friends and family to contact members of the Assembly Education Committee to urge them to vote “NO” on AB 2222 (Rubio). This bill would mandate the strict use of the science of reading, focused once again on foundational skills, for all children, including our English learners, from transitional kindergarten through the eighth grade. It would also mandate all professional development for teachers and schools be based solely on the science of reading.
CABE is strongly opposed to the sole use of the science of reading as it is not proven to address the needs of California’s Emergent Bilingual/English learner students. We know teaching our students to read and write in English and other languages is a top priority, AND, we strongly believe our students need other literacy elements beyond the science of reading to become proficient readers. Educators need the professional trust to know how to best teach their students.
Using a one-size-fits-all approach does not provide an equitable path for the success of our Emergent Bilingual/English learners. California can do better. Please contact members of the Assembly Education Committee and urge them to vote NO on AB 2222 (Rubio).
| |
|
SAMPLE MESSAGE:
Hello, my name is _______, and I am asking you to vote no on AB 2222 by Assembly Member Rubio. This bill would mandate solely the strict use of the science of reading as a one-size-fits-all on foundational skills, for all children, including our English learners, from transitional kindergarten through the eighth grade. All children, including English learners, need more tools to support reading and literacy, but it should not be at the expense of those students who are biliterate.
Please vote no on AB 2222 when it is heard in the Assembly Education Committee.
| | |
|
|
CABE Legislative Advocate Report
by Jennifer Baker
- CABE Co-sponsored Bills Introduced
- Science of Reading Mandated in New Legislation
- LAO Recommends Additional Proposition 98 Decreases
- Senator McGuire, New Senate Pro Tempore
- New Senate Committee Chairs and Members
- Asm. Budget Subcommittee 3 on Education Finance Starts First Hearing on Higher Education
- Opportunities vs. Reduced Revenues
- Cash Receipts Continue to Decline
| |
We hope to see you at the following CABE events... | |
CABE is growing and looking for new team members... | |
2024 edition is now online and we're accepting submissions for 2025.... | | |
|
|
Maryanna Lee was born in Seoul, Korea to a family of four—her parents and her younger brother. Her family moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, seeking more opportunities when she was 4 years old and her brother was a newborn. Korean was the language spoken at home, and she learned Spanish quickly when she started pre-school, becoming fluent within six months.
| |
As they were the only Korean family in the neighborhood, Maryanna soon became the family interpreter. She remembers interpreting for her mom at school, explaining the custom of bringing a cake and goodie bags to class for Maryanna's birthday, assisting new Korean students at school, and translating for her recently immigrated cousins who were older than her. Taking on this role was an honor that made her feel special and helped her to meet people and fit in. | |
In 4th grade, she transferred to a bilingual (Spanish/English) private school, where she was placed in a first-grade class to learn English as her third language. With the help of an English tutor, she was moved to the 4th-grade class within a year. She says, "I fell in love with English! I wanted to attend a school where classes would be taught all in English." Once she hit junior high school, she began to feel different for the first time. At her first slumber party, she recalls being surprised to learn that not every family removes their shoes when entering their home. | |
During her freshman year in high school, she participated in an international travel abroad exchange program, spending her summer vacation in Minnesota during the winter. She remembers, "It was a dream come true… Eating pancakes with syrup, eggs, and bacon for breakfast for the first time and experiencing Christmas with my host family who treated me like their fourth kid! I was shocked to learn that kids at school could have pizza and chocolate milk every day for lunch. I think I gained 20 pounds in three months!" She wanted to stay for her sophomore year and was devastated when her overprotective parents made her return home. It became her goal to return to the US to attend college with the dream of becoming a simultaneous interpreter for the UN. She knew that to realize that dream, she would need to learn academic Korean, so she decided to continue her education at Korea University in Seoul, Rep. of Korea. It was there that she became aware of the importance of having a mentor and personal and professional networks. Through these connections, she got help with her resume and landed work interpreting for business and government meetings and translating product manuals for big corporations like Samsung and LG. She finished her studies in three years and spent her 4th year traveling, studying for the GRE, working as a translator, and interpreting for the Korea/Japan World Cup 2002. | |
When the Argentine peso crashed in 2002, her parents relocated to Los Angeles, CA, and her brother entered the University of Washington in Seattle. Maryanna moved back home to help her parents adjust to the new language and culture and to start a clothing manufacturing business. She began researching the textile industry and even attended school at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) to learn fashion design and merchandising. | |
Having already worked as an interpreter, she no longer wanted to be a UN interpreter and decided instead to major in education at Stanford University, where she got her M.A. and teaching credential. "My calling was to teach minority and underprivileged populations, so when I was offered jobs in several high socio-economic schools, I turned them down and accepted a position at Anaheim High School in the Anaheim UHSD where I worked serving low socio-economic, language minority, and immigrant students and families for 15 years." In AUHSD, she has served as a secondary Spanish teacher, department chair, dual language immersion program coordinator, testing coordinator, and now, assistant principal at Lexington JHS in the City of Cypress. At AUHSD, she collaborated with Cynthia Vásquez Petitt, now CABE Senior Program Advisor, to offer the Seal of Biliteracy before it was a state-recognized seal and to develop one of the first secondary dual language programs in the state. | |
Maryanna attended her first CABE conference as a language teacher to learn new teaching strategies. She says it was an eye-opening experience, and the amount of resources being offered and the number of teachers participating blew her away. She attended CABE's Dual Language Immersion Institute when it only addressed elementary levels and is excited that it now includes a secondary strand. As a DLI coordinator, she often gave tours to other districts interested in expanding DLI to secondary. She also presented at multiple conferences and consequently was invited to facilitate the secondary strand of CABE's DLI Institute last year. Recently, she was invited by Dr. Bárbara Flores and CEO Dr. Edgar Lampkin to join the CABE Board of Directors as the Director of Parent Relations when the position was vacated early.
In her free time, Maryanna enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with friends and family, her husband Jin, and her three sons, Lucas (6), and fraternal twins Evan and Asher (4).
| |
Here's what's going on in our statewide chapters and affiliates... | |
CABE Riverside Chapter #6 invites all parents, families, and educators to a free Saturday conference on March 16. Save the date and register today! Bit.ly/3sGJdJF | | |
|
|
Check out our latest newsletter...
| |
Other items of interest to the CABE Community... | | | | |
