COVID-19 Rapid Response: Dual Language Learners Blog Post Series
Catalyst California created the COVID-19 Rapid Response: Dual Language Learners blog post series in collaboration with Early Edge California and Sobrato Early Academic Language. For more information on our policy recommendations to address DLL children and families’ needs during COVID-19 and beyond, check out COVID-19 Rapid Response: Urgent Needs of Dual Language Learner Children and Families.
Closing the Learning Divide for Young DLLs during COVID-19 and Beyond
As data on the pandemic continue to roll in, it’s clear that the pandemic’s burdens are not shared equally. It is increasingly evident that California’s families of color–the state’s linguistically and culturally diverse communities–have been among the state’s hardest hit.
Many families of color who work in frontline service sectors like health care or food services are at an exceptionally high risk of exposure to the virus. Their children, many of whom are dual language learners (DLLs), continue to experience stress and anxiety as their families work as essential workers risking exposure to COVID-19. Families speaking languages other than English at home were more likely to report food insecurity concerns. What’s more, there is evidence that the state’s DLLs are likely to face digital divides—that is, lack of access to the learning technologies required for distance learning. As a result, polls suggest that many DLLs could not reliably access schools’ online learning offerings, and—even when they accessed them—were not adequately supported.
Elevating the Urgent Needs of Young Dual Language Learners and Their Families During COVID-19
Everyone is feeling the impact of COVID-19 as the country grinds through yet another month of abnormalcy, with low-income and communities of color bearing the brunt the most.
Data show the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, especially Black, Latinx, Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander, and low-income populations—many of whom are linguistically diverse families. Their children, a great number of whom are dual language learners (DLLs), are inevitably suffering as their families work on the frontlines as essential workers, risking exposure to COVID-19 while trying to balance competing demands.
Building an Equitable System for DLLs in the California Master Plan for Early Learning and Care
As the state copes with the profound shocks of COVID-19, civil rights uprisings, and the constant threat of environmental devastation, California must recapture the forward-looking optimism that was building before the pandemic. We must channel it into re-envisioning our early learning and care (ELC) system as one that boldly centers equity, addresses systemic racism, and strengthens its mixed delivery system infrastructure.
Contact JunHee Doh, Senior Policy and Research Analyst, for more information