The Coalition has been busy these past few months!
We updated our look and collaborated on a new slogan that focused on the through-line of our work which is to Uplift. Embrace. Sustain. Multilingualism. As we look to the future, we are excited to continue to uphold the promise we’ve made to our multilingual community and be their fiercest advocate every step of the way.
We also reflected on what we’ve accomplished since the coalition was founded, including legislative wins like the passing of the Seal of Biliteracy for College Credit and getting a World Language/ MLLL specialist position at RIDE (shoutout to Agnieszka Bourret!). This led us to the realization that we were ready to scale up our operations. We applied to and received the Strategic Planning grant from Nellie Mae Education Foundation and are eager to start our strategic planning process this month, extending into late 2023. Thanks to the grant, the Steering Committee hired our first full-time Coalition Coordinator, Alicia Pratt, and a new Social Media and Community Liaison, Stevent Cleto. This growth in our capacity has allowed us to take on several exciting projects such as the filming of a promotional video with Riverzedge Arts, and a language competition through Duolingo this Winter Break which ends the 15th of this month.
We’ve also tapped into our community’s power through the Multilingual Education Advocacy Workshops lead by the Power and Capacity Committee. These workshops are informative, insightful, and full of lively discussion. We urge you to come to attend the remaining workshops and experience them yourself! Meanwhile, the Advocacy Committee has been hard at work planning our 5th Annual Multilingual Education Advocacy Day (info below) and the Policy Committee is looking forward to introducing two bills into the 2023 legislative session that will expand multilingual education and provide pathways for more MLL-certified educators (info below).
We’re excited to start off 2023 so strong!
Member Corner
RITELL (Rhode Island Teachers of English Language Learners) is a non-profit organization for ESOL and Bilingual Education professionals in Rhode Island. Co-founded in 2000 by RIC professor emeritus Dr. Nancy Cloud and Jane George, English as a Second Language instructor, they saw it through until it became the official RI affiliate of TESOL in 2010. The purpose of RI-TELL is to determine advocacy and professional development needs of ESOL and Bilingual Education professionals in Adult ESOL, Higher Ed, Workplace Ed, Elementary, Secondary and Low-Incidence programs serving English Language Learners in Rhode Island. Later this month RITELL will be hosting a joint info session with RIFLA about the Seal of Biliteracy. More details below.
Legislative Priorities
Let’s work together to ensure the future of multilingual education!
The Policy Committee has been working on two bills to be introduced in the 2023 legislative session. We will require the aid of our members and their networks to advocate for these in the coming months.
The Multilingual Educators Investment Act. This bill’s focus is on a multi-faceted approach to increasing the number of bilingual/dual language, and world language teachers in public schools. It includes support for increased preparation and training of bilingual/dual language and world language teachers by providing direct financial support to Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island.
The Dual Language Pilot Bill. This bill’s focus would be on the expansion of world language and dual language immersion programs in our state to ensure bilingualism and biliteracy throughout K-12.
Please stay tuned and the ready to support these as we introduce them in the legislative sessio
Determining our pathway to success.
From January 2023 to September 2023, the Coalition will be undergoing its Strategic Planning process. Through a collaborative process we will review our current mission and vision, committees, and operations. We will come together to determine short, mid, and long-term goals and set action plans to drive us towards success in achieving those goals. We’re excited to take on this process! If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, please email us at info@multilingualri.org.
Important Dates
January 21st
Coalition-wide meeting/ Strategic planning session 1
10-2:00 PM @ONA
February 1st
Spotlight series session 1: Multilingualism ric & the community
6:00 PM Webinar