July 11, 2022 | EdSource, Latinos for Education
This EdSource commentary was co-written by Early Edge California’s Executive Director, Patricia Lozano, and Latinos for Education‘s Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer, Feliza Ortiz-Licon.
In this commentary, Patricia and Feliza discuss the importance of having a Transitional Kindergarten (TK) workforce that is able to support children’s home language(s), a way to identify the state’s Dual Language Learners (DLLs) to set them up for success, and an outreach plan to inform parents of the benefits of enrolling their child in a TK program.
“California’s universal preschool system will indeed be historic, but it must also be equitable, and state leaders must ensure that it is set up to serve the state’s ethnically and linguistically diverse students who will shape the future of our state. In doing so, California can create a national model for expanding educational opportunities for students and crafting groundbreaking policies that serve to properly identify and serve dual language students.”