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Hello members and friends of the coalition!
We can't believe it's already March! Since our last newsletter, the Coalition has been busy working on several projects.
We hosted our fifth workshop: "Advocacy at the School and District Level" facilitated by Young Voices youth. As groups, we discussed vital issues and inequities in our current system. We also looked to our future and engaged in conversation on advocacy at the district level and what resources currently exist. We ended our conversation with ideas on school redesign and how to build an equitable system. Thank you to all those who attended and a reminder that registration is still open for our final workshop, "What Does Quality Education Look Like?" which will be led by James Cahan on the 20th of this month.
Rebecca Klassen, Erin Papa, and Alicia Pratt attended the Joint National Committee for Languages 2023 Language Advocacy Days. We were able to talk to Representative David Cicilline and staffers for Representative Seth Magaziner, Senator Whitehouse, and Senator Jack Reed. We're happy to report that they all fully support multilingualism in our little state! If you'd like to view the wonderful video Becky Klassen made for the RI team, you can do so here.
The Multilingual Learner Issue Brief by Rhode Island Kids Count was released on February 27th. Thanks to collaboration with many Coalition leaders and the lived experiences of Multilingual Learners, their families, and communities, the issue brief proposed promising policy solutions and practices. Executive Director, Paige Clausius-Parks said it best, "Multilingual Learners & #MLL families are an asset to all of RI, however the data shows that we have much work to do to ensure these students have what they need to succeed. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and make this right."
Our 5th annual Multilingual Education Advocacy Day has been confirmed to take place on Tuesday, April 4th from 2 PM-5 PM. We look forward to seeing you there. If your organization is interested in tabling at this event or you (or someone you know!) are interested in being a speaker, please fill out this interest form.
We look forward to continuing to collaborate with organizations in our coalition. If you are interested in having us join you at upcoming events, please do not hesitate to reach out! |
