December Advocacy Report

Meet our new Advocacy Chair

Amanda Mendoza is a French teacher, World Language Department Chair, and Seal of Biliteracy Coordinator at Emporia High School. She has served previously on the KSWLA board from 2020-2023, is a LILL Advocate, the Kansas and Central States Regional Representative for NNELL, and a session/workshop facilitator locally and nationally. Amanda is looking forward to advocating for all language teachers and their students at the local, state, regional, and national levels.

Updates

As many of you may have seen in the news, language education has been taking a hit from many different directions. From the changes at the federal level with the Department of Education and Department of Defense, to different states lowering or eliminating language requirements, to the teacher shortage many of us are experiencing, it is truly important that we, as language teachers, work together to ensure our own futures in the profession, as well as the future opportunities for our students. More information on the impact these changes have had on Kansas schools will be coming in the near future, but if you would like to learn more about language policies, you can read up on the subject here: https://www.languagepolicy.org/newsroom. Please stay tuned in the following months to learn about some little things YOU can do to advocate with us!

One update to watch out for is actually from 2023, but we may soon be feeling the repercussions of it in the coming years. KSDE removed World Languages from the category of Fine Arts and while many schools are allowing WL courses to count toward the Fine Arts category, be aware that for the class of 2028, this may no longer be the case. Unfortunately, this means that schools are not required to keep a World Language position. Members in smaller schools are most likely aware of this, but this could have a negative impact on larger schools and school districts with struggling language programs. This can also have a negative impact on students who will no longer see a “value” in taking a WL course. Obviously, we, as language teachers, understand all of the many opportunities languages create in all career areas; however, when students plan their courses, they may see things differently. Keep in mind that WL courses will still count toward the total elective credits (4.5), it just might be harder to keep students in seats when they are looking at fulfilling categories. Now is the time to make your language courses relevant to your learners. Help them see the advantages of languages in their potential careers locally, nationally, and globally and help them understand that language acquisition takes lots of time, so four semesters of a WL course will not get them very far. The positive side here is that the Seal of Biliteracy counts as a post-secondary asset, which means our WL courses are needed for L2 learners to earn that credential. If you need help implementing the Kansas Seal of Biliteracy, feel free to email: kswlaadvocacychair@gmail.com or Nathan.McAlister@ksde.gov.

There is some exciting news for World Language teachers: KSDE will be offering a Summer PD 2-day workshop for Kansas World Language teachers! One of the most effective ways we can advocate for our students and for our profession is to support literacy initiatives in our buildings. This helps to ensure that you are valuable not only as a content area, but as an extension of support to other content areas. The focus of the summer workshop will help you do just that. Incorporating KSDE’s 4 Foundations (Structured Literacy, Balanced Assessment, Standards Alignment, and High-Quality Instruction) will not only help make your content more engaging and effective for your learners, but you will be playing a vital role in supporting building and district literacy goals. More information to come soon!

NNELL 

The National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL) is a national organization that advocates for early language programs, allows collaboration with early language educators and beyond, and educates our communities, states, regions, and nation about the importance of early language education. As a NNELL member, you have access to all previous monthly PD opportunities in the member-only section of the website, PLUS you are invited to all upcoming PD and networking opportunities. Our networking sessions allow for conversations by language and level about specific topics or we just get a chance to connect with other language educators to discuss issues that are important to us. For more information, and to see what NNELL has to offer beginning in January, click here.