Education Without Barriers NC is committed to fighting for meaningful policy change to benefit English learners and their families. Below is a listing of actions advocates can take to advance more equitable academic outcomes for students in their community.
ACTION FOR ALLIES
Develop Strategies for Equitable Family Engagement
- Identify opportunities to provide meaningful community and parent feedback to advance academic outcomes for English learners.
- Help develop engagement strategies to increase involvement of English learning students and their families in your local school or district.
- Help build knowledge and understanding of school supports and services and the right to enrollment, language access, and appropriate interventions.
Advocate for Equitable Funding
- Advocate for adequate LEP allotments.
- Get involved in the development of your local school district’s budget, demonstrate need, and request adequate funding for ELs.
- Advocate for increased funding for the adequate school staffin, including bilingual and bicultural office personnel, bilingual and bicultural teachers, psychologists, counselors, and speech therapists as well as other supports and services that English learners need to achieve academic success. Additionally the need for cultural competency, language training, and Professional Development opportunities for educators.
- Advocate for more funding for early childhood opportunities that include bilingual programs and bilingual and bicultural
- Advocate for expanded opportunities to attend well-designed after-school programs with properly trained instructors to promote literacy achievement and academic reinforcement in their mother tongue as well as in English.
- Advocate for expanded funding for Dual Language/Immersion and Newcomers Programs.
- Demand increased per-pupil funding and efforts to improve the competitiveness of NC teacher pay.
Develop Programs Tailored to Local Needs
- Partner with your local Dual Language/Immersion programs to identify needs and opportunities for community collaboration.
- Communicate program successes and challenges to your local School Board.
- Identify budgetary barriers preventing implementation of Dual Language/Immersion programs in your school district.
- Learn more about the Community Schools model and inquire about local efforts underway in your school community (such as wrap around support services and community partnerships) and opportunities for alignment with this approach and statewide network of practitioners.
- Schedule a tour with your local school or district leaders of a Dual Language/Immersion program near you to learn more.
- Ensure local districts can provide a continuum of Dual Language/Immersion programs throughout K-5, middle, and high school by advocating for program investments and expansions
North Carolina’s Hispanic Community: 2019 Snapshot
Schools’ Civil Rights Obligations to English Learner Students and Limited English Proficient Parents
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/ellresources.html
Education and Law Project report: Education without Barriers
Background on Leandro v. State:
https://governor.nc.gov/issues/education/commission-access-sound-basic-education