Maryland State Board of Education and Maryland State Department of Education Host Multilingual Learner Education Virtual Roundtable Today, March 29
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Lora Rakowski, 410-767-0468
lora.rakowski@maryland.gov
Maryland State Board of Education and Maryland State
Department of Education Host Multilingual Learner Education
Virtual Roundtable Today, March 29
Join the Conversation about Education That Works for Multilingual Learners
BALTIMORE, MD (March 29, 2022) – The Maryland State Board of Education (State Board), the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), and CASA are hosting an multilingual learner Education Roundtable today, March 29, 2022 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The roundtable will be livestreamed at youtube.com/watch?v=QnowopKYTQM, where viewers can join the discussion through YouTube’s live chat feature. Interpretation will be available for Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Haitian Creole for roundtable participants and the general public by logging into wearecasa-org.zoom.us/j/8270490493.
Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury and Executive Director of CASA Gustavo Torres will cofacilitate a discussion with students, families, educators, and community organizations. Participants will share their perspectives on what is working well and their innovative ideas for how to better support multilingual learners and families through public education.
“While developing the multi-year strategic plan, we will be actively reaching out to both traditional and non-traditional partners in an inclusive strategic planning process informed by students, families, educators, business and industry leaders, higher education representatives and more,” said Maryland State Board of Education President Clarence C. Crawford. “Serving a growing population of emerging bilingual students, we are looking forward to this conversation to learn what is working well and where there is the need for growth as we work together to accelerate the academic achievement of our multilingual learners.”
“The development and implementation of our multi-year strategic plan will operationalize our mission to ensure that every Maryland student has access to excellent and equitable educational opportunities that realize their full potential. This roundtable provides an opportunity for rich, meaningful engagement with our multilingual learner community, and is critical to moving forward and becoming better,” said Superintendent Choudhury. “The State Board and MSDE are grateful for this opportunity to partner with CASA, the largest immigrant advocacy organization in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and work with our local education agencies and diverse community partners.”
Multilingual Learner education across the State will be shaped by recommendations from the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Workgroup for multilingual learners. The roundtable discussion will focus on several Workgroup topics, including the assets of multilingual learners and multilingualism, community engagement, and how all teachers can better support multilingual learners.
“The realization of the goals identified in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is among the highest priorities identified by CASA’s over 120,000 Black and Brown working class members,” said CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres. “This roundtable represents an important opportunity to ensure the implementation of the Blueprint is guided and informed by the experiences of those who will be most impacted by these efforts”
Public input from roundtables and other engagement initiatives will guide the development of the State Board and MSDE’s multi-year strategic plan and ensure every student in Maryland has excellent and equitable educational opportunities that help them realize their full potential. All Marylanders are encouraged to view the YouTube livestream and join in a live chat to engage with the roundtable. This engagement along with the roundtable discussion will be used to inform the development of the Strategic Plan. Excellent and equitable education opportunities for multilingual learners will accelerate their academic achievement and shape the demographics of the state and country for years to come.
Visit marylandpublicschools.org/Blueprint/Pages/ELBlueprintWorkgroup/index.aspx to learn more about the Multilingual Learner Blueprint Workgroup, including upcoming meetings as well as meeting agendas, presentations, and other resources.
The State Board and MSDE also invite all Maryland residents to shape the future of our schools by completing the Maryland Public Schools Strategic Planning Survey. Public input will guide the development of a multi-year strategic plan and ensure every student in Maryland has excellent and equitable educational opportunities that help them realize their full potential.
The survey in English, Spanish, French, Urdu, Korean, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Chinese is available here: www.marylandpublicschools.org/survey.
Additionally, all stakeholders are invited to share their thoughts for future engagement opportunities at: http://bit.ly/MSDEEngages
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EL Education Roundtable Press Release 3.29.22