Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL)

CEEL's Diversity Equity and Inclusion Impact Model - A melding of Equity Focused and Asset Based Approach, Reciprocal Accountability, Research- based Programs, Policies, and Practices, and Collaborative Inquiry and Action leading to Transformation  and Capacity Building for Multilingual Teaching and Learning

Mission: The Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) ensures equity and excellence in English Learner and Multilingual education by transforming educational systems and practices as leaders who collaborate in research, professional learning, and policy to positively impact generations of students and communities. 

Vision: English Learner and Multilingual education is research- and evidence-based and fully integrated into the U.S. education system. Language, literacy, and all content instruction for English Learner and Multilingual students is assets-based, equitable, and just. English Learner and Multilingual students and their families are valued and engaged as partners in the education process.


2024 Jornada Pedagógica

International Multilingual Education Professional Development Conference
January 27, 2024

Registrations Open

Register now for the 31st annual Jornada Pedagógica para la Educación Plurilingüe conference conducted entirely in Spanish at Loyola Marymount University. Attendees will join exciting keynotes and workshops on best practices for Dual Language instruction, assessment, and parent & community engagement.

 

Alma Flor Ada Award for Social Justice

We are also accepting applications for the 6th Annual Alma Flor Ada Award for Social Justice, which will be presented at the 2024 Jornada Pedagógica conference.

 

To learn more about this and previous Jornada events, please see our full Jornada page or program flyer.

CEEL Publications - English Learner Roadmap Toolkit for Institutes of Higher Education

CEEL is pleased to announce the publication of the English Learner Roadmap Toolkit for Institutes of Higher Education. This Toolkit was developed to address the education of English Learner and Multilingual students in California’s current university credentialing programs for teacher education, counseling, and educational administration/leadership.

The purpose of this Toolkit is to: (1) provide a context for California’s university and other professional credentialing programs’ obligation to engage in reflection and (re)design processes that prioritize preparation of candidates who are well-equipped to serve culturally and linguistically diverse students in preschool–12 settings; (2) delineate the process and results of an examination of the alignment between the standards for Teacher Education, School Counseling and Educational Administration/ Leadership Credential Programs and the California English Learner Roadmap; and (3) offer tools that can support the urgent need for a more precise alignment of the educator expectations and the CA English Learner Roadmap to meet the needs of California’s English Learner and Multilingual student population

We invite you to access the toolkit on our site.

We would also like to extend an invitation to our upcoming Higher Education Institute: (Re)designing Educator Preparation Focused On Equity For English Learners/Multilingual Students in collaboration with Californians Together. These virtual two-session institutes will allow attendees to learn about the CEEL EL Roadmap Toolkit for IHEs and engage with IHE teams to use the resources in the Toolkit to develop a strategy for (re)designing preparation programs or coursework to address the teaching and learning needs of future educators. If you are responsible for designing and implementing teacher, counselor, or administrator preparation programs at UCs, CSUs, or a private institution we invite you to view the CalTog flyer and register for a cohort.

In Search of Equity for English Learners

CEEL is proud to announce the publication of our fourth LCAP report focused explicitly on English Learners (ELs) since the inception of LCFF in 2013.

To what degree have districts with high percentages and high numbers of ELs addressed the needs of diverse English Learners in their LCAPs? This publication presents state, county, and local education agency recommendations based on a review of 26 LCAPs through the lens of English Learners in an effort to answer this critical question.

A panel of 46 reviewers, including Public Advocates, representing California educators, researchers and advocates convened in October 2021 to analyze the LCAPs from 26 districts with high numbers (greater than 999) or high percentages (greater than 40%) of English learners. Our goal was to assess the degree to which these districts considered the needs of diverse English learners in their LCAPs.

As reviewers, we hoped that our analysis of these 26 school districts’ LCAPs would reveal a renewed focus on English learners as a group of students that has historically been underserved. Unfortunately, the findings showed that school districts have come up short in their support for the needs of English learners, failing to consistently (1) differentiate programs, actions and services for different English learner populations, such as newcomer students; (2) provide robust professional development for educators; and (3) center family engagement in a way that empowered families to lead and monitor LCAP development and implementation.

The report details its findings and offers a series of recommendations for the State, County Offices of Education and Local Education Agencies to sharpen their focus on equity and opportunity for English learners to meet their academic and language needs.

We invite you to read the full report on our website.

For further material, please see our LCAP Toolkit: Using Research-Based Tools to Promote Equity for English Learners or view our previous LCAP Reports.

CEEL Research - Annotated Bibliography

The Center for Equity for English Learners announces its newest publication, Ensuring Equity and Excellence for English Learners: An Annotated Bibliography for Research, Policy and Practice. Comprised of 350 annotations of both recent and seminal literature, this annotated bibliography supersedes a previous version and serves as a resource for researchers, policymakers, educators, and advocates who are working for equity and excellence for ELs.

Our goal was to provide a comprehensive selection of works focused on theory, research, and practice. The annotations are a result of purposeful searches of 23 topics in empirical and theoretical articles from peer-reviewed journals, books, book chapters, and reports from leading scholars in the field. Among the topics addressed relevant to EL education are broad areas such as bilingual teacher preparation, teaching and professional development, university and district partnerships, digital learning for ELs, social-emotional development, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and English Language Development (ELD) for elementary and secondary level students. The Integrated ELD (content instruction) topic is subcategorized according to specific disciplines including English language arts, history, mathematics, science, visual & performing arts, and STEM.

Please see our Research & Evaluation page for more CEEL research.

CEEL Publications - English Learner Master Plan Playbook

The areas of focus for the EL Master Plan laid out in a circle. Equity driven processes, accountability, family-community engagement, and equitable systems.

The Center for Equity for English Learners is proud to announce the publication of our ENGLISH LEARNER MASTER PLAN PLAYBOOK: Developing Equitable Local Education Policies for Multilingual and English Learner Students. The playbook provides tools for educators, families, and community members to engage in policy dialogues and development processes to support the creation of a local policy document - the English Learner Master Plan.

CEEL offers interactive sessions and technical assistance to help LEA teams create a plan to develop a district-wide English Learner Master Plan that is aligned to the research-based CA English Learner Roadmap policy and focuses on visionary policies, programs, and services that ensure equitable opportunities and outcomes for English Learners. Participants engage with the resources included in the CEEL English Learner Master Plan Playbook to develop a strategy for beginning or refining their approach to writing components of their EL Master Plan.

Please visit our English Learner Master Plan page for more information.

CEEL Signature Programs

CEEL Featured Programs

CEEL Research

CEEL engages in top-of-the-line research projects to inform key decisions and policy making.

Dialogic Reading

Collaborate with teachers, students, and families to create meaningful STEAM language and literacy development opportunities for Dual Language Learners!

EL Master Plan

CEEL helps LEA teams create a plan to develop a district-wide English Learner Master Plan that is aligned with the research-based CA English Learner Roadmap policy.

Featured Speakers

The Center for Equity for English Learners regularly hosts events where visiting scholars can present on a variety of topics to LMU's educational community.

Journalism for English Learners

Introduces teams dealing with Grades 3-5 to a project-based journalism curriculum specially designed for students at risk of becoming Long Term English Learners.

OPAL Institute

The OPAL is a research-based and validated classroom observation tool designed specifically to support teachers of English Learners.