Preschoolers learning English need to be identified, supported, says California’s master plan
Early Edge CA Executive Director, Patricia Lozano, was quoted in an article by EdSource about California’s new master plan for Early Learning and Care.
Young children whose first language is Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic or another language other than English could get more help in becoming bilingual in child care and preschool under California’s new Master Plan for Early Learning and Care.
The plan, commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom and put together by dozens of researchers, with input from educators, child care providers and parents, presents an overarching blueprint for providing more access and higher quality to California’s early education programs serving the state’s 3 million children under the age of 6.
California has made numerous efforts in recent decades to ensure that preschools meet the needs of children who are not fluent in English. But the Master Plan includes several new proposals for dual-language learners that advocates hope will improve their education outcomes.
“When you get the tools to teachers to know how to work with dual-language learners, those interactions are going to be so much richer and the teachers are going to feel that much more confident on how to connect with dual-language learners, even if they don’t speak the same language. Between getting a bilingual program and not having anything, there is a lot that teachers can do,” said Patricia Lozano, executive director of Early Edge California, an advocacy organization that promotes high quality early learning.