A Conversation With Award Winning Authors

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, the Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) is hosting three Mexican American children’s book authors for a stimulating conversation about their work next Tuesday, October 15 at 6pm ET. 

The three panelists are recipients of the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award that honors authors and illustrators who write about the Mexican American experience. During the webinar, the authors will discuss their work and inspiration and will read excerpts from their books. 

Welcome to our first ever eNews! This monthly communications to members will celebrate your work, remind you of upcoming events, and feature our partners. Browse until the end for Career Opportunities. 

CELEBRATING YOU! 

Local Changes 

• New! Sendas Program in Arlington School, Lawrence PS, MA
• New! Roosevelt Middle School Grade 6 Program in New Bedford PS, MA 
• DLBE Middle School program in Providence PSD, RI has new home in Roger Williams Middle School

Find details and more information in our DLBE Regional Directory. 

We Kicked Off SY 24-25 With Summer Institute Thank you to everyone that learned with us this summer!

Other Summer Accomplishments 

• Milford PS, MA wrapped up MABE's La Siembra 

• Schechdaddy PS, NY completed Sembrando Raíces with us

Coming Up at Nuestro Mundo

Compañeros Program at Windham PS, CT celebrates 30 years and honors passing of founder Jean Romano. We want to feature your good news! Email us with images and updates from your programs, schools, and districts.

UPCOMING MABE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES PRESENTING LIFETIME SERVICE AWARDS AND SPONSOR OPTIONS: REGISTRATION DEADLINES EXTENDED:

FROM OUR PARTNERS 

DLBE School Climate Study Needs Your Input  Biola University, CA invites you to participate in a 10 minute survey on DLBE program/school climates. There are no easy answers to resolve tensions in DLBE, but your experience and wisdom can offer a first step to finding ways to address the issues that schools face in maintaining a positive, nurturing environment. This survey seeks to identify general challenges for DLBE programs and specific causes for tensions with non-DLBE teachers, as well as both tried and proposed solutions.

Take School Climate Survey

Results will be shared at the NABE Conference in February 2025, possibly at DLeNM's La Cosecha, and through other DLBE and professional networks. The MA Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, supported by a grant from the MA Attorney General’s Office, has launched an immigration advocate legal helpline to offer direct legal guidance to community organizations in response to the unprecedented need for services resulting from an influx of international arrivals. Interpretation in Schools MA DESE resources for expanding spoken language interpretation in schools: • Download guidance on delivering high-quality interpretation services • Language ambassador training available online for bilingual individuals and school-based staff members who participate in meetings with an interpreter. • MA districts can download this registry to find and then contact a trained interpreter for the education setting. MABE WEBSITE UPDATES • You can now view our eBlasts and eNews on our website. Members are invited to comment on posts by clicking on the three vertical dots in front of a post's title.  • You can now donate to MABE directly on our website (top right in header).  • Our Professional Development offerings have been updated under Consulting.  • Keep an eye on our Project SEMBRAR page under Advocacy as we work with partners on this National Professional Development Grant.  • We are in the process of revamping our Member's Only Resources! Members can access past Conference, Network, and Summer Institute presentations and materials CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Advocating for the Educator Diversity Act (EDA)

Latinos for Education helped form the MA Educator Diversity Act Coalition, which MABE is an active member of. This session, the Educator Diversity Act Coalition worked to pass the EDA in both the House and Senate as an amendment to the Economic Development Bill and was then sent to a conference committee.

However, the legislature was not able to report out the Economic Development Bill for a vote before the end of session. Nevertheless, we still hold out hope for the EDA for two reasons. First, the policy amendments attached to the Economic Development Bill can still be reported out for a vote during informal session (which ends with the 2024 calendar year), something the House Speaker committed to working on. Second, the Governor has called for a special formal session specifically for the Economic Development Bill. Both the House Speaker and Senate President have responded to this request and shared they are willing to call the formal session.

The Educator Diversity Act Coalition and MABE thanks you all for the role you have played in the legislative wins this session. In just the past 7 months we:

• Held our first ever rally and another impressive hill day with over 100 people in attendance
• Passed in the House (just like last session)
• Sent over 100 letters to Senators in just 24 hours asking they pass the EDA
• Passed in the Senate unanimously (historic first-time achievement)
• Got assigned to a conference committee (also a first-time win)
• Sent a letter signed by over 100 organizations, including our union partners, to the conference committee in support of the EDA

These high-level wins and all the work it took to get here cannot go unnoticed or without celebration. The EDA has only gone through 2 sessions, and we have gotten so far!

A message from MABE's President, Michael Gary

Hello,

¡Bienvenidos a / Bem Vindos a / Welcome to School Year 2024-25! Let’s take a moment to reflect on all that we have accomplished in these 50 years together for our multilingual learners. Every single one of us that works in this field, no matter our role(s), is a leader and learner, a changemaker and a policymaker for, and on behalf of, our students. We have a lot to celebrate and even more to work toward to reach for our vision of equity in education.

I am unbelievably proud to serve for these next two years as MABE’s President. This is a humbling experience. I have served our multilingual learners and families first as a teacher, then as a district director, a school-based coach, and an assistant principal. This year, I have returned to the classroom as an English Language Development (ELD) Teacher.

As your MABE President, I serve you. Our Board of Directors and staff serve you. We are stewards of our mission and vision so that we can all collaborate together so the next 50 years will truly change the world for our students.

MABE is extremely excited to offer our members a rich agenda of events, activities, and services:

MABE’s 50th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

MABE is turning 50 years old! You are cordially invited to register for MABE’s 50th Birthday Celebration. Come honor bilingual education’s past, present, and future with us! Dance to live music from the Hartt Salsa All-Stars, memorialize history, and enjoy cocktails and appetizers on Friday, November 22, 2024 in Mechanics Hall, Worcester, MA. Sponsors accepted. 

DUAL LANGUAGE BILINGUAL EDUCATION NETWORKS 

You’re invited to our Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) Networks for Leaders, Elementary Teachers, Middle School Teachers, Coaches, and Special Educators. We welcome your participation in these networks where you can work with colleagues to build systems of support that sustain effective, research-driven DLBE programs. 

Our special topic network this year is Bilingual Research, free to members in good standing. This network will feature local research, and any members interested in learning more about DLBE research and how it can impact DLBE programs are welcome to register. 

DUAL LANGUAGE BILINGUAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE

We are already preparing for our annual conference, set to take place Saturday, March 8, 2025 in the UMass Amherst Center at Springfield. We are also planning for our Pre-Conference School visits and our Pre-Conference Advocacy Roundtable early in 2025.

Protect National Language Education Program Funding

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have now approved separate versions of FY2025 education and defense funding, and they remain very far apart on spending levels. Let's educate Congress on the value and importance of these critical language education programs! 

Registration now open for this year's Special Topic Network... 

WHAT: The virtual Bilingual Research Network showcases Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) research occurring across our New England region and beyond. The research featured in these webinars is closely connected to and has clear implications for DLBE practice.

WHO: Free to MABE members in good standing (with no outstanding balances). Members can register at any time. Commitment to attending all sessions is not required. If you are not a member, join us to register.

ExcEL New Pathway to Bilingual Dual Language Teacher Certification