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 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
- Current CEEL Highlights
- Previously Featured Highlights
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2023-2028: CEEL Long Term Strategies
Following a comprehensive and inclusive process that engaged CEEL’s many stakeholders, the team created a five-year plan that charts a course through 2028. The plan builds on CEEL’s more than 16 years of steady growth and innovation and positions it for a future of growth and increased impact, as well as heightened visibility as a critical partner in English Learner and Multilingual Student education. It also is closely aligned with the strategic goals of Loyola Marymount’s School of Education and positions CEEL to continue to build on its successful partnership with its parent organization. Please view our full Strategic Plan for insights into the future of CEEL.Philanthropy Affirms CEEL's Leadership
SOE's Center for Equity for English Learners continues its longstanding partnership with the Sobrato Family Foundation with the receipt of a new grant through 2025 for $650,000. Since 2018, Sobrato has sponsored nearly $2,000,000 to aid CEEL in its quest for equity for English Learner and Multilingual students.CEEL Resources Extend Beyond the Bluff
The Center for Equity for English Learners has served as a dynamic catalyst for high-quality, research-based resources that inform global, national, and local contexts, garnering an impressive 689 downloads across 51 countries on the CEEL Digital Commons Platform over the last 90 days alone!CEEL Leads Cutting-Edge Systemic Reform
The Center for Equity for English Learners collaborates with state, county, and local partners to provide resources, best practices, and guided support for educators and administrators as they implement the California English Learner Roadmap Policy. CEEL's EL Master Plan Playbook guides educators in the engagement of policy dialogues and development processes to support the creation of a local policy document - the English Learner Master Plan.Californians Together & CEEL Celebrate a Milestone in Equity in Math Education
Over the next two years, our organizations will work collectively as the California High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) Coalition and Learning Partners to ensure that California’s list of approved instructional materials for TK-8 are high-quality, aligned to mathematics and English language development standards, center strategies and supports for multilingual learners, and are culturally and linguistically relevant for all of California’s diverse students. We will also create and disseminate resources to help schools and districts to evaluate, adopt, and effectively implement high-quality instructional materials in mathematics that align with the new Math Framework." Read the full statement on CalTog's website.In the news – “Journalism program helps English learners with language skills”!
In January 2023, CEEL’s Journalism for English Learners program was featured by Spectrum News1, highlighting the success of one of our partner districts implementing the program - Compton Unified. Participate in our Journalism for English Learners Program Institute designed for teams of district or school leaders and teachers. Learn how this curriculum helps bolster ELs’ communication and writing skills to enrich and support instruction for students at risk of becoming Long Term English Learners (LTELs). about our next virtual institute scheduled for May 23 and 30, 2023.CEEL Education and Policy Brief
CEEL published an Education and Policy Brief from a case study of an urban school district and a charter organization with between 50% to 80% of students who have ever been ELs, in a co-designed English Learner Improvement Network (ELIN) that provided extensive collaboration between researchers and practitioners in EL education and Improvement Science. Key findings included the benefit of expert partnerships to support the ELIN, the impact of local context on improvement, the effectiveness of smaller steps to lead to larger changes, the value of collaborative coaching from the EL and Improvement Science experts, and the important role of teacher leaders in supporting implementation. are available for download.National Professional Development Grant
CEEL is proud to be in partnership with L.A. Unified School District and SEAL on the Prevent Long Term English Learner Status Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Dedicated 4th and 5th grade teachers, alongside district and site leaders from 15 Project PEARLL-SEAL schools participate in this project. Jornada 2023 - Promoviendo la equidad, identidad y biliteracidad!
On Saturday, February 4th CEEL welcomed nearly 200 bilingual educators, parents, student performers, and university partners to the 30th Jornada Pedagógica Internacional para la Educación Plurilingüe! In collaboration with L.A. Unified and CABE, this conference is held entirely in Spanish and this year we featured keynote speakers, Drs. Angela Valenzuela, Sandra Musanti, and Sandra Mercuri. CEEL presented the annual Alma Flor Ada Award for Social Justice to Ashley Silva, an outstanding dual language teacher from Dolores Huerta International Academy in Fontana, CA. We highlight a quote from a participant who expressed great appreciation for the opportunity to learn, connect, and “feel at home” in this plurilingual professional learning community.EdSource Roundtable - Supporting English Learners: What do teachers need?
Elvira Armas, director of LMU School of Education’s Center for Equity for English Learners, joined an EdSource panel discussion focused on professional development opportunities for teachers of students who speak languages other than English at home. We invite you to read more and watch the panel on EdSource's website.Celebrating 15 Years of Equity Advancement
Congratulations to the Center for Equity for English Learners on its 15th Anniversary and thank you to all who joined in the celebration, hosted at the California Club on May 12, 2022. We would also like to offer our congratulations to Dr. Magaly Lavadenz, who was honored at the CEEL 15th Anniversary Celebration by being named the second Leavey Endowed Professor of Moral and Ethical Leadership in the LMU School of Education. For a glimpse into the celebration, you can view our Speaker Highlights video.LAUSD Family Poll
The Center for Equity for English Learners has partnered with Great Public Schools Now to produce this year's Annual LAUSD Family Poll. Learn about how Los Angeles families about education as we continue into the third school year of this historical pandemic.Distance Learning with Common Sense: Equitable Distance Learning for English Learners
How can we best meet the unique academic, social, and language needs of students who are culturally and linguistically diverse? Dr. Elvira Armas, Director of Programs and Partnerships from the Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) at Loyola Marymount University, and Mayra Lavadenz and Charlene Fried, accomplished teachers of English learners joined Common Sense for a discussion on equitable distance learning for English Learners. This conversation with Vicki Saylor, AZ Regional Manager for Common Sense Education shares key considerations for implementing equitable design principles, best practices for distance learning, and research-based resources to support English-language learners' social and emotional learning as well as their language development.
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.