As president of the Colorado Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) for 2009-2010, I am honored and excited to be writing to you.  This school year has presented many conversations around data.  The pressure of high stakes testing has made several bilingual educators question program structure, pedagogies, and practices.  I’ve received questions from Dual Language Programs, “Should we up the time spent in English so that the scores will go up on CSAP?”  What does the research say?

Recently I had the pleasure of attending a staff meeting at a school with a Dual Language Program.  They were reviewing the components of successful programs and intending to make their program stronger.  One teacher presented research about Dual Language.  She said that one common theme found in successful Dual Language was that everyone that had a stake in the program “understands and trusts the theories and research.” (Freeman, Freeman and Mercuri, 2005)

Now more than ever we must have faith in bilingual education research.  We must stay the course.  We know that the more time a student spends in English doesn’t mean that they will learn English faster or better.  We know that from research.  We know the program structures and the kind of high quality instruction that are needed at all levels for bilingual education to be successful.  We must not stray from the research we know so well.  Stay the course.  Stay firm in your commitment to provide the best for our bilingual learners and families.

CABE intends to extend that commitment.  This year’s theme for the annual conference is “Staying the Course: Pedagogies and Practices for Bilingual Learners.”  Join us.  We look forward to seeing you on October 14^th and 15^th.

In addition, CABE is extending our hand to other organizations.  We are proud to say that we are working collaboratively with CCIRA.  We have worked together on a survey for literacy and bilingual learners which will be sent to you soon.  We hope for your participation.  CCIRA will also be joining us this summer, providing a strand for professional development in our summer institute, CABE en verano, which will be held in June in Edwards, Colorado.  And as always, we will continue to work collaboratively with the Language, Culture and Equity Unit in the Colorado Department of Education.

Finally, CABE is extending invitations and communications to you through our new website and through Twitter.  Twitter will allow us to keep you current on professional development opportunities, updates on our website, and other important information.  This year, we are going to highlight bilingual education programs in our state via our website.  We are also going to help school districts advertise positions for the purpose of recruiting bilingual and ESL educators. 

I know that this year holds great things for bilingual learners and their families because of the efforts of all of you and from the devotion of the CABE Board.  Join CABE, as we stay the course with strong policies and pedagogies.  The CABE Board and I thank you and look forward to seeing you soon!

Thank you,

Amy Galicia

President

Colorado Association for Bilingual Education