Ms. Mata

As a bilingual educator my goal is to have an influence on every student! I will honor every student’s home language as a strength and not a weakness. I want to build a culturally sustaining classroom where all are welcome and all feel safe. As well as teaching students to become confident in who they are. Recognizing all languages develops literacy within the classroom in ALL. I will always show all my students that I stand behind other biases our community faces, because I will always ROOT for them, even if they feel the world is against them. Bilingual classrooms unite families and help make the school and classroom a better and safer place. I will implement parent/ guardian participation as long as I can!

diversity in education isn’t a threat, it’s a gift.

We need to give special education teachers the opportunity to receive their dual language certification in order to help support dual language learners. By defunding dual language programs, only hiders our students who already have a disadvantage because of their disabilities. Let’s not make a language barrier hurt them as well.

As a first year teacher, I have come across many English Learners throughout the day, and there are many more who enrolled in the school! I feel like every month I get someone new. I am fortunate that our ELA curriculum offers support for EL students, but what about other schools? And for how much longer? Being in this program really helped me as an educator be better prepared for when I continue to support English Learners as I continue to work on my own Spanish myself. Our community needs this program to stay because in the future, we will be facing the same kinds of students, and they will continue to need this kind of support. This program allows for us as educators to continue learning new strategies and explore the fundamentals of dual language learning, which we are noticing how impactful in Can be at our schools. More schools should follow in these footsteps, and having programs such as these is what is going to allow that. As a newer teacher, I am forever grateful for having spent my first year not only teaching but being a DLL student. This program has helped me implement new strategies into my own classroom that I will continue to use many more years to come.

This Spanish Program at CSUDH has strengthened my opportunities to create relationships and communities that make my students and families feel safe within school grounds. Many of these students come specifically to learn more and become more acquainted with other multilingual students. TK relies on kinder and up to 6th graders to have volunteers and within the classroom. Opening schools with additional language and community help only strengthens these relationships and helpers within school grounds.

Stronger Family and Community Ties

Children who maintain their home language can communicate more easily with family members, fostering stronger relationships and cultural continuity.

• Jesus Ortiz-Negrete

Through dual language immersion, teachers gain the tools to build classrooms that not only promote academic success but also nurture respect for diverse cultures. Since language and culture are deeply interconnected, this approach empowers educators to create more inclusive learning environments and to prepare students to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and global society. Supporting dual language programs is not only an investment in student success, but also in the professional excellence of educators who lead with equity and cultural understanding.

Karina Lomeli

We live in very diverse communities and our teachers need to be ready to support the students in those communities. Many times school is the only place where students feel safe and secure. It’s the only place where they feel successful. Part of that success is the teachers they have. When a teacher is able to support students in their native language it builds a relationship between them because there are no language barriers . When teachers are able to reach out to parents and family members it also creates a sense of connection. Bilingual teachers are very important because it helps students see the value and importance of being bilingual.

Inclusion means giving access to great education from the earliest possible. Whether to bilingual students, deaf students, fully abled, and so on. In order to have a rich, loving, and functioning society, we need to be able to relate to who our students are. In Los Angeles….. MOST students ARE at least bilingual in some way. If most our students are bilingual, then our teachers should be too.

Being part of the bilingual authorization is one way I’m bringing justice and equity to the community. Brining an ethic of care, authentic cariño, to my students and families and putting their needs above anything else. That’s me being part of the community I live in. ❤️💪🏽

DLE educators are the root to career readiness in the high competitive fields of our future professional. Other nations have made it a priority.

Why is our own behind on this matter of need?

It’s due to the lack of representation and accountability of our current National leadership.

Leave country in an educational crisis that will lead to increasing illiteracy rather than literacy nation wide.

Targeting the under privileged youth who need the most support to prosper and receive the opportunity to excel in this current national system.

Support DLE Education

Dr. Lucia Huerta

La comunidad juega un rol clave en el apoyo del idioma, porque de lo contrario existe una estigmatización social y crea un rechazo. Sin embargo, si el bilingüismo es apoyado por la comunidad el idioma muere y mueren consigo opciones de brindar una educación más equitativa.

CSUDH necesita un programa de dual la gauge learning porque es necesario que existan maestros capacitados para promover el bilingüismo y la creatividad lingüística y cultural de miles de niños.

As a bilingual educator, I’m committed to being both a teacher and an advocate for multilingual learners. I will create a classroom where students' identities, languages, and cultures are valued and celebrated. I will intentionally include students’ home languages and lived experiences in my instruction to build bridges between school and home. My goal is to support students in developing and using both languages, encouraging translanguaging, critical thinking, and pride in who they are. I will always stand up for their right to learn in more than one language and ensure they feel seen, heard, and respected.

Families and communities are essential partners in my work as a bilingual educator. I build strong relationships with them through open communication whether by email, in person, or other ways that meet their needs. We work together as a team to support each child’s academic, social, and emotional development. I learn from families about their children’s strengths and interests, and I invite them to participate in classroom life or support learning at home. Together, we create a shared commitment to help students thrive in both languages.

The CSUDH MA in Education: Dual Language Learning program and certificate are important because our communities need more teachers who are prepared to support bilingual students and their families. These programs prepare educators to value and build on students’ home languages instead of replacing them. With this training, we can help students grow strong in both languages, support families who speak languages other than English, and promote dual language pathways from early grades through high school. This work helps create bilingual, biliterate students who are confident, capable, and ready to thrive in a multilingual world. It also opens doors for more inclusive and equitable education in our communities.

As a bilingual educator, I strive to provide an environment in which students can speak their language with confidence and comfort. This being something that is extremely important for the future in a bilingual individual's education.

I believe that the program should remain at CSUDH because it allows many emerging educators take a route that is very suiting for them. I knew from the very beginning of my college career that I wanted to be a teacher. But not until I learned about the dual language program and what they strived for, did I find a love and fascination to it. It allowed me to embrace being a bilingual individual. Someone who spoke, thought, and loved in more than one language.

In the dual language program, we have planted the importance of connection within the community of each and every student that will be in our classroom. I always asked myself the question; how can I make my students feel like their culture and their community is being embraced? That is something that I had the privilege of learning through the dual language program in CSUDH.

I respectfully urge you to reconsider this decision and to continue supporting the Dual Language programs that have empowered so many of us to become the educators our diverse communities need.