During the days of March 26-29 the annual California Association for Bilingual Education took place. In honor of celebrating its 50th anniversary the conference theme was Honoring Our Past, Embracing Our Future: 50 Years of Bilingual Advocacy & Excellence.
According to CABE’s website their vision is to bring “Biliteracy, Multicultural Competency, & Educational Equity for All.” Their mission is to support the vision and implement “priorities, initiatives, and services designed to increase California’s capacity to create caring and highly effective learning environments that promote multiliteracy and support English learners and all diverse populations to graduate college, career, and globally prepared to live their lives to their fullest potential.”
It took an immense amount of planning and dedication to get SIATech staff and students to this conference. The community engagement team acquired a grant and as a result were able to invite a team of SIATech staff and eight students to attend the conference. Community Schools Engagement Coordinator, Mr. Martinez shared that after attending the conference last year he knew he had to work to bring students and additional staff this year.
The conference supports advocacy, as well as provides instructional services and strategies to uplift student engagement amongst English learners. Making it extremely impactful for our staff and students. Staff members shared that they enjoyed learning about best practices for English Learners, and hearing the powerful student and family narratives.
Four students from SIATech El Centro attended the conference, Mr. Sanchez, Mr. Mota, Ms. Murillo and Ms. Hernandez. Mr. Sanchez, expressed his gratitude to Mr. Martinez for giving him the opportunity to attend. He shared that the conference magnified the importance of education. He went on to share words of appreciation for his school,
“SIATech is one of the only schools where they prioritize connection over curriculum.”
He went on to express how grateful he was for his teachers as he knows they truly care, making him feel comfortable to speak up and ask questions.
Four students from SIATech Indio were also in attendance, Ms. Torres, Ms. Torres, Mr. Garcia, and Mr. Anguiano. Ms. Torres shared that she found value in being able to meet and socialize with students from other sites. She expressed how important it was to her to be able to hear from students with various backgrounds and perspectives.
“At the age of 17 it's the time to have new experiences. Going to places like these are ways we can practice the things we are learning. It's difficult to envision a life or career outside of where we've always been, especially when we don't know what's out there for us,” said Torres.
“This bilingual conference is crucial because we do have a lot of EL students, and in order to provide better support to all of our EL students, we need to work together with our parents and students to connect them with what they really need. Our goal is to continue to bring more opportunities to all of our families, and make sure our EL students have all the support and resources they need,” said Martinez.