ATT D - COMPREHENSIVE MULTILINGUAL STRATEGIC PLAN 2024.pdf

Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan September 2024

ATTACHMENT D

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan�

Acknowledgments We want to thank all the students, educators, administrators, and community members who generously dedicated their time and expertise to provide invaluable feedback for the development of Oregon’s

Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan. Your thoughtful contributions played a pivotal role in shaping the direction of this initiative. We hope you see your feedback reflected in this plan.

We are immensely grateful to the dedicated individuals who participated in the Multilingual Learner

Strategic Plan Workgroup. Your advocacy, collaboration, and deep knowledge of multilingual education were instrumental in developing and refining the strategic plan and creating an actionable blueprint to improve outcomes for all learners.

Thank you to all the Oregon Department of Education staff members for refining and championing the plan.

Your expertise has been invaluable in ensuring the plan aligns with other state initiatives.

Statewide Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan Workgroup

• Tereza Bottman, Portland Public Schools

• Michael Carreras, Three Rivers School District

• Olga Cobb, Salem-Keizer School District

• David Contreras-Machado, Latino Network

• Creighton Helms, Gervais School District

• Marcianne Koetje, Corvallis School District

• Paulina Larenas, Portland Public Schools

• Stacey Lee, Albany School District

• Toshiko Maurizio, Beaverton School District

• Kathleen Mitchell, Eugene School District

• Nelly Patiño Cabrera, Oregon State University

• Kristen L. Pratt, Western Oregon University

• Norma Ramirez Gonzalez, EUVALCREE

• Bill Rhoades, North Marion School District

• Chris Starr, McMinville School District

• Arcema Tovar, Hillsboro School District

Oregon Department of Education Guidance and Plan Development Team

• Carmen Xiomara Urbina

• Jennifer Patterson

• Mary Martinez-Wenzl

• Jennifer Fontana

• Myrna Muñoz

• Mariana Praschnik-Enriquez

• Dan Farley

• Andrea Lockard

• Brandon Culbertson

• Carol Matsuzaki

• Natalia Piar

• Mariela Salas Ba

• Gloria Espitia

• Tamra Gowdy

• Alexa Pearson

Education Northwest Team

• Manuel Vazquez Cano

• Karen Perez Da-Silva

• Jennifer Johnson

• Lymaris Santana

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan�

Contents

Introduction� 1

Plan overview� 5

Vision� 5

Mission� 5

Priority areas� 6

Timeline and process� 7

Focus of the Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 8

Oregon’s diverse multilingual learners� 8

Alignment with other student success plans� 11

Partnership with the nine federally recognized Tribes of Oregon� 13

Priority area 1. Authentic and responsive community engagement and partnerships� 15

Goal 1. Multilingual learners are authentic partners in state and local decision-making that directly impacts them and their communities.� 16

Goal 2. Families, caregivers, and communities are engaged as authentic partners in informed decision-making and advocacy to ensure the success of multilingual learners.� 17

Goal 3. Students, families, and caregivers have consistent access to high-quality interpretation and translation services.� 17

Priority area 2. Systems, instruction, and assessment improvements � 19

Goal 1. Coordinate and align state systems and programs (Title I-A, Title III, English learner outcomes, Integrated Guidance, literacy initiatives) to ensure a unified approach to effectively serving students designated as English learners.� 20

Goal 2. Increase the quality of instruction to meet the diverse strengths and needs of multilingual learners while reflecting and affirming their intersectional identities.� 20

Goal 3. Assessment practices reflect multilingual learners’ academic and linguistic progress and affirm the knowledge and cultural assets they bring.� 21

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� iv

Goal 4. Students designated as English learners have equitable access to grade-level academic courses, accelerated learning, career-connected learning opportunities, and enrichment opportunities.� 22

Goal 5. Newcomers and students with limited or interrupted formal education are welcomed and integrated into Oregon schools and provided with the academic and social and emotional learning support they need to succeed.� 22

Priority area 3. Transformative educators and administrators � 24

Goal 1. Oregon districts recruit, hire, retain, and advance multilingual educators of color who mirror the intersectional identities of students designated as English learners.� 25

Goal 2. Ensure all preservice educators and new administrators have the capacity to support multilingual education.� 26

Goal 3. In-service teachers, administrators, and school staff members engage in ongoing, high-quality professional learning to support multilingual learners.� 26

Priority area 4. Pathways to multilingualism � 28

Goal 1. Oregon educational entities implement high-quality dual language programs that prioritize students designated as English learners.� 29

Goal 2. Oregon educational entities offer and support Tribal language course options that promote language revitalization and preservation.� 30

Goal 3. All multilingual learners earn the Seal of Biliteracy/Multiliteracy.� 30

Appendix A. Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan definitions� 32

Types of multilingual students� 32

Types of programs� 34

Other key terms� 35

Acronyms� 37

Appendix B. Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan development process� 38

References� 40

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 1

Introduction

“Together, we are weaving a vibrant tapestry of cultures and languages, strength-ening our communities, and enriching the lives of every Oregonian. Our commit-ment to transforming education for our multilingual learners is a testament to the power of diversity and inclusion. By removing barriers and supporting our students' aspirations, we honor their heritage and pave the way for a brighter, more equitable future. Let us unite in this journey of transformation, ensuring every learner's unique voice and identity are celebrated, seen, and loved. Every Oregonian has a role in embracing multilingual education, making our schools and communities stronger for each and every student.”

– Carmen Xiomara Urbina, Deputy Director of the Oregon Department of Education (2018–2024) & Dr. Charlene Williams, Director of the Oregon Department of Education

Oregon is committed to transforming the state education system to better meet the strengths and needs of multilingual learners. Oregon’s multilingual learners and their families bring a wealth of intersecting identi-ties that enrich the fabric of our schools and communities. The hundreds of languages spoken in the state, diversity of lived experiences, and many ways of understanding the world create a vibrant tapestry that enriches the lives of all Oregonians. Multilingual learners are an asset for our state, and education agencies and community members have a collective obligation to remove barriers and support students in exercis-ing their power to achieve their college, career, and linguistic aspirations.

Oregon’s education system has made progress in supporting multilingual learners, but there is room for improvement. The state’s funding formula awards about $5,000 per pupil in additional funding for students classified as English learners, which is one of the highest amounts in the nation (ECS, 2021). However, Oregon’s education system has not always focused on elevating the assets of multilingual learners, and in some contexts, multilingual learners and their families have been systematically excluded from rigorous programs, courses, and opportunities to influence school decisions (Burke, 2015; Hodara & Pierson, 2018;

Arneson et al., 2020; Olivos & Audrey, 2020; Umansky et al., 2024). Additionally, Oregon’s education system has contributed to the erasure of valuable cultural and linguistic assets, including American Indian cultures and languages, through instructional approaches that fail to build on the language skills and knowledge students bring with them.

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 2

“Our languages are a vital part of our identity and heritage. Ensuring their preservation and growth is essential for fostering future generations and maintaining our cultural integrity.”

– Valerie Switzler, General Manager, The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon

These systemic barriers—both explicit and implicit—have led to unequal access and outcomes. In the 2022–

23 school year, the five-year graduation rate for multilingual learners designated as current English learners was 72 percent—12 percentage points lower than students who were never designated as English learners

(Oregon Department of Education [ODE], 2024).

In the past decade, the Oregon State Legislature has taken important steps to transform outcomes for multilingual learners and address historical inequities. These include:

House Bill 3499. This bill, passed in 2015, marked a major turning point in statewide support for students designated as English learners. The bill directed ODE to develop and implement a statewide education plan for students designated as English learners. The bill also created a unique accountability system that identifies districts that are not meeting the needs of multilingual learners and provides guidance and tech-nical assistance to identified districts.1 The state has the power to direct district funding to English learner services if districts do not meet progress benchmarks.

Student Success Act. During the 2019 legislative session, Oregon’s leaders made a commitment to children, educators, schools, and the state with the passage of the Student Success Act. When fully implemented, the

Student Success Act is expected to invest over $2 billion in Oregon education every two years.2 At the heart of the Student Success Act is a commitment to improving access and opportunities for students, with a focus on historically underserved students, including students classified as English learners.

1 �House Bill 3499 also established permanent state funding for supporting English learners and an advisory group to ensure transparency in how these funds are used by districts across the state. The bill also requires school districts to report annually (by September 1) on student demographics, all allocations and expenditures related to English language learner programs, and the academic progress of multilingual students designated as English learners.

2 �Of those funds, over $1 billion is invested in early learning and K–12 education each year. Approximately $700 million goes into the State School Fund, and the remaining funds are distributed across three accounts: the Early Learning Account, the Student Investment Account, and the Statewide Education Initiatives Account.

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 3

American Indian Tribal Language Revitalization. The Oregon Legislative Assembly acknowledged the importance of language to Oregon Tribes. Oregon statute declared the teaching of American Indian tribal languages “essential to the proper education of American Indian children (ORS 342.144).” Further, the statute directs the Teachers Standards and Practice Commission to establish a teaching license specific to American

Indian language instruction.

House Bill 2056. Passed in 2021, the Access to Linguistic Inclusion bill, as it is also known, was another important step in providing greater access and opportunity for multilingual students in Oregon. First, it eliminated the requirement that most instruction be delivered in English (ORS 336.074). Second, it revised the state diploma requirements from “English” to “language arts” (ORS 329.451), which opened opportu-nities for students classified as English learners to earn high school language arts credits for language and literature courses taught in other languages.

Multilingual and Migrant Education Team. In 2022, the Oregon State Legislature established permanent funding for a Multilingual and Migrant Education Team at ODE. This increased ODE’s capacity to support the transformation of multilingual education programs across the state.

The Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan builds on these efforts. This plan outlines shared policy and budgeting priorities and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to addressing historical educational ineq-uities and eliminating systemic barriers to academic success for Oregon's multilingual learners, particularly those designated as English learners. The plan was developed with input from hundreds of students, care-givers, educators, administrators, and committed advocates from across the state and Tribes. It emphasizes the need for all educational entities and their staff members to share the responsibility of investing in the success of multilingual learners for present and future generations.

The plan also aligns with the federal Raise the Bar initiative, which is intended to create greater pathways for global engagement. Raise the Bar affirms the value of multilingualism in today’s global society and econ-omy and strives to create pathways to multilingualism by providing equitable access for English learners, diversifying the multilingual educator workforce, and expanding access to bilingual education (figure 1;

Education Department, n.d.).

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 4

Figure 1. Key levers to provide every student with a pathway to multilingualism

“Multilingualism is a superpower. Knowing more than one language, acquiring a new language through school, or learning new languages later in life can provide tangible academic, cognitive, economic, and sociocultural advantages.”

– Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education

Equitable access for English learners Develop and implement processes that enhance oversight for the civil rights protections of English learner services and promote evidence-based practices to address the barriers that English learners can encounter in education

Diversified bilingual/multilingual educator workforce Provide technical assistance and funding opportunities and disseminate information about evidence-based state and other local program that are building educator workforce capacity, including Grow-Your-Own, teacher residencies, and apprenticeship programs; and support colleges and universities in prioritizing English as a Second Language and bilingual educator preparation programs for multilingual educators

Quality bilingual education for all Increase access to high-quality language programs and highlight states and districts that are implementing evidence-based dual language programs and seals of biliteracy https://www.ed.gov/raisethebar/multilingualism-pathways

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 5

Plan overview

VISION

All adults share the responsibility of contributing to educational systems that ensure multilingual learners designated as English learners are valued for the rich and diverse lived experiences, languages, heritage, and cultural knowledge they carry for current and future generations. All Oregon students graduate from high school with the Oregon Seal of Biliteracy/Multiliteracy and ready for college and career.

MISSION

To transform Oregon’s education system, ensuring that all multilingual learners experience culturally and linguistically responsive and affirming learning environments, rigorous instructional programming, and pathways that equip them to pursue their current and postsecondary visions of success.

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 6

Overview

PRIORITY AREAS

The Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan is structured around four high-impact priority areas that are anchored by a set of shared beliefs. First, the plan affirms that community voice, including engage-ment with tribal partners, is a key ingredient for student success. Second, improvements in our educational systems, instruction, and assessments are necessary to ensure that multilingual students designated as

English learners have access to grade-level content instruction and high-quality language development support, which is their civil right. To ensure sustainable progress, all adults acknowledge their contribution to and share the responsibility for the success of multilingual learners. Finally, the plan recognizes multilin-gualism as an asset and superpower to nurture.

Within each priority area, the plan details specific goals and the actions that will be implemented to achieve those goals. By concentrating on these priority areas, setting shared goals, and aligning policy and budget decisions, Oregon will accelerate progress toward an educational system that supports all multilingual learners in pursuing their personal vision of success.

Authentic and responsive community engagement and partnerships for decision-making and advocacy

Systems, instruction, and assessment improvements for future-ready multilingual learners

Transformative educators and administrators who teach and lead for multilingual learner success

Pathways to multilingualism through culturally and linguistically responsive programming

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 7

Overview

TIMELINE AND PROCESS

This plan was iteratively developed by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) in partnership with

Education Northwest from December 2023 to September 2024. Building on previous efforts from ODE to develop strategies that improve support for multilingual learners, the strategic plan development team drafted an initial high-level draft with a focus on areas and goals. The team then collected extensive feedback from hundreds of educators, administrators, parents, students, and community members across the state to refine the plan. At the same time, the Education Northwest team facilitated a workgroup to advise in the development and refinement of the plan. More details on the process can be found in appendix B at the end of this document.

The rest of this document is organized as follows: it starts by clarifying who is at the center of the Oregon

Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan. It then explains how the plan connects to other state plans mandated by the Student Success Act and how the plan envisions a partnership with the nine federally recognized

Tribes of Oregon. The plan then outlines the goals of each of the four priority areas and details the specific actions that the state and education entities can take to progress toward those goals. Each action specifies education organizations that will be involved, such as ODE or individual school districts. At times, the plan uses the term education entities to be inclusive of a wider group of education organizations that serve students, such as school districts, education service districts, public charter schools, and youth correctional education programs.

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 8

Focus of the Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan The Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan focuses on improving the educational experiences and outcomes of students designated as English learners3 while also elevating outcomes for all learners.

In this plan, we purposefully use the term multilingual learners to highlight students’ linguistic assets. We center students designated as English learners, as this is a federally defined term that carries important civil rights protections (ED, 2015). Moreover, Oregon state law (ORS 336.079) requires a specific state plan for students designated as English learners. While the plan centers on multilingual learners who have been designated as English learners, it also intends to elevate the outcomes of all learners. Improving the focal group’s system of supports will increase access and benefits for all multilingual learners and elevate the status of multilingualism.

OREGON’S DIVERSE MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS

3 �Federal and state definitions (ORS 327.016) describe students who receive English language instruction, supports, and services as part of an English language development (ELD) program as English learners. While these students are learning English in an ELD program, the English learner label only focuses on a singular dimension (i.e., learn-ing English) and does not reflect the linguistic and cultural assets of the students (García, 2009; Kanno et al., 2024).

Thus, although this plan will use the English learner label in order to comply with federal and state definitions, we recognize these students are multilingual learners who bring valuable linguistic and cultural assets.

In the 2022–23 school year, Oregon served

100,175 students who were currently or formerly designated as an English learner

Representing

18.4 percent of all Oregon students

Multilingual learners ever designated as English learners spoke at least different languages

Present in at least

158 of the 197 districts in Oregon

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 9

Focus

Oregon’s multilingual learners have a wealth of intersecting identities. They speak a wide array of languages and hold varying racial and ethnic identities. In the 2022–23 school year, Latina/o/x students made up

75 percent of the 100,175 students in the state who have ever been designated as English learners during their schooling. However, within each racial/ethnic group, there was a high representation of students who were currently or formerly designated as English learners. In the 2022–23 school year, approximately half of

Asian and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students had been designated as English learners at some point, while one in five Black/African American students and one in 10 American Indian/Alaska Native students have been designated as English learners. It is important to recognize that Oregon’s current data collection and reporting practices do not accurately capture student’s intersecting identities. The practice of report-ing a singular racial or ethnic group for each student undercounts certain populations and can lead to the erasure of a group entirely from policy conversations (Urban Indian Health Institute, 2021).

Figure 2. Statewide, nearly one in five students have been designated as English learners

Note: This figure shows the percentage of students within each racial/ethnic group that have ever been designated as English learners

Source: Oregon Department of Education analysis of 2022–23 student data.

There is also incredible language diversity across Oregon. During the 2022–23 school year, 254 unique languages were identified as being spoken by students in K–12 public schools. Among this diverse linguistic landscape, students across racial and ethnic identities speak tens of different languages. Still, Oregon's current data systems are not equipped to capture all the unique languages spoken across the state.

Latina/o/x

Statewide

Asian

American Indian/Alaska Native

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

Multiracial

Black/African American

White

54%

18%

45%

11%

44%

19%

3%

3%

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 10

Table 1. There is language diversity across all racial/ethnic/tribally affiliated groups

Race/ethnicity group Number of unique home languages

Top three languages

American Indian/Alaska Native 26 English4 | Spanish | Navajo

Asian 97 Vietnamese | Chinese | Korean

Black/African American 70 Somali | Swahili | Amharic

Latina/o/x 153 Spanish | English | Mam

Multiracial 85 Japanese | English | Chinese

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 45 Chuukese | Marshallese | Samoan

White 103 Russian | Arabic | Spanish

Source: Oregon Department of Education analysis of 2022–23 student data.

Multilingual learners also bring diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. Some multilingual students have ancestry in North America that goes back to time immemorial, some have lived here their entire lives, and some are new to the country. Among the 59,263 students currently designated as English learners during the 2022–23 school year (ODE, 2024):

Multilingual learners are diverse and have intersecting identities and experiences beyond their designa-tion as English learners. As such, a one-size-fits-all approach to policy and services will not be enough to adequately meet the diverse needs of multilingual learners. The Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan

4 �Data collection procedures allow students who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native to select English as their home language as well as students formerly designated as English learners. For this reason, English may show up as a top language for some groups.

12,979 students have been enrolled in English learner programs for more than seven years

4,815 students arrived in the United States within the last three years

6,232 students were enrolled in both English learner services and migrant education

790 students experienced an interruption to their formal education at some point

11,675 students students were enrolled in both English learner services and special education

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 11 is designed to align with other Student Success Plans and group-specific action steps. It aims to provide a comprehensive and customized approach to policies and services that address the diverse needs of students and acknowledge their intricate and intersecting identities.

ALIGNMENT WITH OTHER STUDENT SUCCESS PLANS

Student Success Plans are strategic improvement plans implemented within and across all ODE offices, in partnership with various state agencies, and are informed by community input collected through culturally specific state-level advisory groups. The plans are created to address three key aspects: disparities experienced by student groups, historic practices that resulted in disparities, and the unique needs of students, many of which have intersectional identities as multilingual learners. There are currently five completed plans: American Indian/Alaska Native Student Success Plan, African American/Black Student

Success Plan, Latinx & Indigenous Student Success Plan, LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan, and the

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Student Success Plan. In addition, the Immigrant/Refugee Student

Success Plan is still being developed. All Student Success Plan activities are categorized into six pillars that organize strategies across all plans: (1) culture, identity, and language, (2) leadership development,

(3) coordinated systems of care, (4) academic success, (5) service learning, and (6) family engagement.

Table 2. Six pillars of the Cross-Student Success Plan Framework

Pillar Definition

Culture, Identity, and Language

Practices are centered in students and families' invaluable reservoirs of knowledge, traditions, culture, and histories that serve as assets for positive identity development and increased sense of self-efficacy.

Leadership Development Practices focus on providing for skill-building and advancement, grounded in culturally responsive and respectful pedagogy.

Coordinated Systems of Care

Practices foster comprehensive systems and support services that are culturally responsive and thoughtfully coordinated to center Plan students’ and their families’ strengths, fostering an environment that promotes student success in and out of school.

Academic Success

Practices elicit thoughtful approaches to academic engagement that enhance understanding and are high-quality, data-informed, culturally relevant and empower Plan students’ educational experiences.

Service Learning

Practices expose students and families to learning, tools, and strategies to explore challenges and barriers experienced by Plan students in the community and embolden students, families, and educators to address social issues and promote change through their learning experiences.

Family Engagement Practices increase access to affirming education or education-adjacent focused engagement activities to enhance support for student success.

https://www.oregon.gov/ode/studentsuccess/pages/statewide-education-initiatives-account.aspx https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/equity/NativeAmericanEducation/Documents/FINAL- Native Student Success 2020.docx.pdf https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/equity/AfricanAmericanBlackStudentEducation/Documents/aabsSuccessPlan.pdf https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/equity/AfricanAmericanBlackStudentEducation/Documents/aabsSuccessPlan.pdf https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/equity/Latinx/Documents/ODE_LatinX Student Success Plan_2021.pdf https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/equity/Documents/LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan.pdf https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/equity/NativeHawaiianPacificIslanderEducation/Documents/NHPI_SSP.pdf

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 12

The Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan includes goals and action steps that align with these six pillars and intersect with other student success plans. For example, the Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan, the American Indian/Alaska Native Student Success Plan, and the Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Student

Success Plan aim to support culture, identity, and language by supporting language revitalization efforts and increasing the prevalence of linguistically responsive services. Meanwhile, like the Multilingual Learner

Strategic Plan, the African American/Black and Latinx/Indigenous Student Success Plans aim to support academic success by increasing access to culturally responsive curriculum and postsecondary readiness supports. This alignment allows for a cohesive and comprehensive approach to supporting multilingual learners across the state with diverse identities.

Table 3. Examples of alignment between organizing pillars of the student success plans and the Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan

Student Success Plan Pillar Examples of common goals and strategies in both plans

American Indian/ Alaska Native Coordinated

Systems of Care

• Increase recruitment and retention of American Indian and Alaska Native educators

• Enhance methods to identify American Indian and Alaska Native students through tribal affiliations

Culture, Identity, and Language

• Support the Tribal Language Advisory Committee in guiding language preservation efforts

• Amplify tribal-led language revitalization efforts with resources and support

African American/Black

Coordinated Systems of Care

• Increase recruitment, hiring, and retention of African American/Black educators

• Develop culturally responsive targeted supports for newcomer students

Academic Success

• Improve instruction and literacy outcomes

• Increase access to courses and learning opportunities that support college and career readiness

Latinx & Indigenous

Family Engagement

• Strengthen family engagement and partnerships

Academic Success

• Support the expansion of culturally relevant curriculum

• Increase access to courses and learning opportunities that support college and career readiness

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 13

Student Success Plan Pillar Examples of common goals and strategies in both plans

LGBTQ2SIA

Coordinated Systems of Care

• Strengthen students’ participation in decision-making and sense of belonging

Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander Family

Engagement

• Partner with families to ensure access to information and opportunities to engage with school

Culture, Identity, and Language

• Increase prevalence of culturally and linguistically responsive resources and supports

Source: Oregon Department of Education.

PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NINE FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED

TRIBES OF OREGON

Tribal languages have been spoken in Oregon since time immemorial and are actively being revitalized.

At the time Lewis and Clark arrived in what is now Oregon 200 years ago, there was incredible language diversity, including at least 14 language families (Braun, 2009; Pacific University, n.d.). However, the legacy of settler colonialism, including policies like Tribal termination, inflicted profound damage on American

Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs

Klamath Tribes

Burns Paiute Tribe

Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians

Coquille Indian Tribe

Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 14

Indian and Alaska Native communities. These federal and state education policies were designed to force assimilation and erase Tribal heritage languages and cultures. Oregon, a key region for these policies, was home to numerous boarding schools that removed American Indian and Alaska Native children from their families, impacting communities from Oregon and beyond. These institutions played a major role in the near destruction of Tribal languages and cultural identities.

Despite this painful history, American Indian languages have persisted in Oregon and are still spoken today. Revitalization efforts are ongoing and supported by Tribes, Tribal communities, and state initiatives.

This includes, for example, the recent formation of the Tribal Language Advisory Committee, which will provide guidance, policy, and legislative recommendations. Oregon heritage languages that are actively spoken and revitalized by the nine federally recognized Tribes of Oregon include, but are not limited to, the following languages:5

5 �This list may not be comprehensive. For the most accurate and up-to-date information about languages being revitalized, please reach out to the individual Tribes directly.

Burns Paiute Tribe Paiute and Wadatika Yaduan

The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians miluk, hanis and sha’yushtl’a

The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Chinook Wawa

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Athabaskan

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Umatilla, Walla Walla and Weyíiletpuu

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Kiksht, Ichishkiin and Numu

Coquille Indian Tribe Miluk, Nuu-wee-ya' and Chinuk Wawa

Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians Takelma

Klamath Tribes Klamath, Modoc, and Neme

The Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan aims to support language revitalization efforts and strengthen culturally relevant support for American Indian and Alaska Native students by working closely with the nine federally recognized Tribes of Oregon while respecting their sovereignty. The plan aspires to do this, for example, by supporting efforts to increase the number of educators equipped to provide culturally and linguistically relevant and effective instruction. It also aims to refine identification and support systems so that American Indian and Alaska Native and Tribally affiliated learners can access tailored and culturally relevant language and instructional supports. Funding and supporting Tribal-led community efforts to revitalize and preserve languages is a local priority (ORS 342.144) as well as a federal recommen-dation (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2024). Strengthening resources, systems, and policies is vital for addressing past harms, healing, and promoting comprehensive Tribal language revitalization.

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 15

Priority area 1.

Authentic and responsive community engagement and partnerships

“I attend every Café con Pan meeting the school offers to parents because I get to learn about how my child is doing, and they offer us opportunities to share our thoughts.”

– Parent from the Willamette Valley

Multilingual families bring a wealth of knowledge, skills, life experiences, and high aspirations that can help support the success of multilingual learners and enrich the entire school community (Flores & Springer, 2021; He & Thompson, 2022; Olivos et al., 2020; Page, 2017; Phillips, 2014). Despite their contributions, interests, and rights, multilingual families encounter barriers that limit their participation in traditional forms of school engagement nationally and in Oregon (Anthony-Newman, 2019; Hanson & Pugliese, 2020;

Olivos & Lucero, 2020).

Over 100 caregivers from diverse backgrounds in Oregon contributed their perspectives to the develop-ment of this plan. They shared challenges and opportunities related to communicating with school staff members and accessing information. Participants specifically highlighted difficulties in accessing infor-mation in a language they can understand, despite having a civil right to information in an accessible language (Education Department, 2015). These barriers limit their ability to engage in important decisions.

“Nos piden que participemos pero cuando llegan a las reuniones llegan con todo preparado y decidido y no nos toman en cuenta” (They ask us to participate, but when they arrive at meetings they have already prepared and decided everything and do not take us into consideration).

– Parent from Central Oregon

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 16

Authentic and responsive community engagement and partnerships

“I use the Parent Square app, and the information is in both Spanish and English.

It’s really nice that the schools provide this, because it tells me that they want to keep us informed, including parents who speak Spanish. I also like it because any communication they send, I can respond with a question or comment, and they will answer. It’s easier for me because I work.”

– Parent from the Willamette Valley

The community engagement and partnership goals and action steps aim to authentically engage multi-lingual students and families. The goals are aligned with the Oregon Department of Education’s revised

Community Engagement Toolkit, which creates a framework schools can use to keep families and community members informed and to engage them as partners in decision-making.

Goal 1. Multilingual learners are authentic partners in state and local decision-making that directly impacts them and their communities.

Action 1.1 ODE authentically includes multilingual students—who are representative of the wealth of intersecting identities in Oregon—in the English Learners Advisory Group to inform state efforts to improve multilingual education.

Action 1.2 In collaboration with a student workgroup, the English Learners Advisory Group adopts a student bill of rights and creates a communication plan for students designated as

English learners, outlining their civil rights as well as schools’ responsibilities as described in federal and state guidance documents.6

Action 1.3 Oregon educational entities7 include multilingual student representatives to inform funding and programmatic decisions such as strategic planning, expansion of dual language coursework, educational entities’ Integrated Guidance applications, and other key program decisions.

6 �See the following for examples: Office for Civil Rights 2015 Dear Colleague letter, Ensuring English Learner Student Can Participate Meaningfully and Equally in Education Programs fact sheet

7 �This term encompasses a wide group of education organizations that serve students, such as school districts, education service districts, public charter schools, and youth correctional education programs.

STATE

STATE

LOCAL

https://www.oregon.gov/ode/studentsuccess/pages/engagement-toolkit-and-tools.aspx https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2015/01/07/eldcleng.pdf https://www.colorincolorado.org/sites/default/files/dcl-factsheet-el-students-201501.pdf https://www.colorincolorado.org/sites/default/files/dcl-factsheet-el-students-201501.pdf

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 17 engagement and partnerships

Goal 2. Families, caregivers, and communities are engaged as authentic partners in informed decision-making and advocacy to ensure the success of multilingual learners.

Action 2.1 The English Learners Advisory Group and ODE adopt a bill of rights for parents/ caregivers of multilingual students that is grounded in federal and state laws. ODE shares the adopted bill of rights with families, caregivers, and communities in a culturally and linguisti-cally responsive manner.

Action 2.2 Oregon districts and ODE improve data collection and reporting practices to ensure accurate representation of home and community languages, add missing languages, and train staff members responsible for data entry.

Action 2.3 ODE provides templates for parent notification letters and communications protocols that inform parents/caregivers about critical education decisions in a culturally and linguistically responsive and family-friendly manner.

Action 2.4 Oregon educational entities purposefully include multilingual and multicultural representatives in advisory groups to inform initiatives such as strategic planning, expansion of dual language coursework, and literacy initiatives.

Action 2.5 All Oregon educational entities that serve multilingual learners provide culturally and linguistically responsive training on the technology used locally to communicate with parents and guardians (e.g., Parent View, Parent Square, Remind, Canva); review usage data;

and take steps to mitigate barriers to access.

Goal 3. Students, families, and caregivers have consistent access to high-quality interpretation and translation services.

Action 3.1 ODE conducts an asset and funding stream analysis to determine the resources, needs, and opportunities of Oregon districts to fulfill their obligation to provide interpreta-tion and translation access for linguistically and culturally diverse multilingual communities across the state.

Action 3.2 Oregon districts develop plans that describe how they will provide parents/ guardians with access to their students’ academic progress and educational information in their home language, as required by law, and report the plans to ODE in the community engagement section of their Integrated Guidance applications and English learner district plans.

STATE

STATE

STATE

LOCAL

LOCAL

STATE

LOCAL

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 18 engagement and partnerships

Action 3.3 ODE collaborates with education service districts and other educational entities across Oregon to develop and expand professional development opportunities and career pathways for interpreters and translators in educational settings.

Progress indicators for priority area 1

Implementation measures

• State and local advisory groups include multilingual students and community members

• Oregon educational entities disseminate student and parent bills of rights

• Oregon districts’ Integrated Guidance applications and English learner plans describe clear strategies to engage multilingual students and parents

Evidence of progress

• Multilingual learners’ sense of belonging increases overall and for different multilingual groups as measured by the Student Educational

Equity Development Survey

PARTNER

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 19

Priority area 2.

Systems, instruction, and assessment improvements

“Multilingual learners are gifted in holding and navigating multiple languages, contexts, and ideologies. They should be supported throughout their educational experiences, not just during English language development instructional time. Being multilingual is a strength, and our schools and curriculum should reflect that.”

– Oregon dual language educator

To authentically honor students’ rights (Education Department, 2015), education systems must implement research-based instruction in integrated settings that make content accessible (Greenberg Motamedi et al., 2020), use assessments that accurately measure multilingual learners’ content knowledge and linguistic progress (Sanchez et al., 2013), and fine-tune systems to provide equitable learning opportunities for college and career readiness (Vazquez Cano et al., 2019). Although many educational entities in Oregon have made progress in implementing equitable access and opportunities for multilingual learners, more work remains to achieve equitable outcomes. Advancement for multilingual learners who are newcomers, those with interrupted formal education, those with disabilities, and long-term English learners requires specific attention (Porter, 2022).

To build strong foundations and continued support for multilingual learners designated as English learners, Oregon must promote instructional practices informed by research, adopt assessments that honor students’ prior knowledge, and remove barriers to learning opportunities, especially for students most impacted by the current system.

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 20

Systems, instruction, and assessment improvements

Figure 3. Graduation rates are high for learners who were formerly designated as English learners; however, students currently designated as English learners have lower graduation rates compared to those never designated as English learners

Source: Oregon English Learners State Report

Goal 1. Coordinate and align state systems and programs (Title I-A, Title III, English learner outcomes, Integrated Guidance, literacy initiatives) to ensure a unified approach to effectively serving students designated as English learners.

Action 1.1 ODE creates a cross-office team to align systems for monitoring outcomes and supporting Oregon districts and ESDs to implement services for students designated as English learners across state and federal programs.

Action 1.2 ODE enhances the scope, quality, and integration of data systems and reporting to track funding decisions, services, and outcomes based on differentiated groups of students designated as English learners (e.g., newcomers, long-term English learners, English learner students with limited or interrupted formal education, English learner students with disabilities).

Goal 2. Increase the quality of instruction to meet the diverse strengths and needs of multilingual learners while reflecting and affirming their intersectional identities.

Action 2.1 ODE updates its guide for English learner program models and instruction with considerations for large, small, and rural districts, youth corrections and juvenile detention education programs, charter schools, virtual programs, and other alternative education settings offered across Oregon.

Five-year cohort graduation rate 2022–23

Regular diploma Modified diploma

Never EL

Former EL

Current EL

4% 84%

89%

72%8%

80%

87%

64%

2%

STATE

STATE

https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/equity/englearners/pages/english-learners-state-report.aspx

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 21 assessment improvements

Action 2.2 ODE explores opportunities to review and revise the instructional materials adoption process to include the availability of high-quality, culturally and linguistically responsive curricula for dual language programs.

Action 2.3 Oregon educational entities examine the early and adolescent literacy needs of

English learner-designated students and provide targeted, research-based literacy supports, leveraging High School Success grants, Early Literacy state grants, and federal programs.

Action 2.4 Oregon educational entities leverage new resources from the Office of

Enhancing Student Opportunities and the English learner resource bank to implement best practices in evaluating and supporting dually identified and long-term English learners.

Action 2.5 In collaboration with the Oregon Cross-District Dual Language Cadre, ODE develops and disseminates a dual language instructional framework aligned to national standards and best practices for pre-K–12 education.

Goal 3. Assessment practices reflect multilingual learners’ academic and linguistic progress and affirm the knowledge and cultural assets they bring.

Action 3.1 ODE ensures developmentally appropriate English learner identification processes by reviewing the standard-setting process used for the ELPA screener, reviewing items for appropriateness, and exploring the possibility of weighting test domains.

Action 3.2 ODE partners with test developers (e.g., Smarter Balanced, Cambium

Assessment) to create culturally and linguistically responsive interim tests.

Action 3.3 The ODE Standards and Instructional Support (SIS) team and partners lead professional learning opportunities focused on formative assessment practices for multilingual learners.

Action 3.4 ODE works to expand the language accessibility of state summative language arts tests, including pursuing funding for test development for Spanish language arts.

Action 3.5 In partnership with the nine federally recognized Tribes of Oregon and the

Office of Indian Education, ODE reviews and refines procedures for identifying American

Indian and Alaska Native English learners, providing tailored services, and measuring educational outcomes.

STATE

LOCAL

LOCAL

PARTNER

STATE

STATE

STATE

STATE

https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/equity/englearners/pages/el-resources.aspx

Oregon Department of Education | Oregon Multilingual Learner Strategic Plan� 22 assessment improvements

Goal 4. Students designated as English learners have equitable access to grade-level academic courses, accelerated learning, career-connected learning opportunities, and enrichment opportunities.

Action 4.1 ODE builds on its binational partnership with Mexico to explore the feasibility of a binational partnership with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and other international institutions to offer credit recovery and more dual credit opportunities.

Action 4.2 Oregon educational entities increase access to grade-level content courses by increasing the availability of guidance counselors, offering additional opportunities for learning time, expanding bilingual programming, and hiring teachers with professional…