Supporting Dual Language Learner (DLL) Children and Families across 16 Counties in California

By JunHee Doh, Manager of Educational Equity 

As shared in our previous post, First 5 California has been leading the historic work of the Dual Language Learner (DLL) Pilot with 16 counties across the state. Strongly aligned with our recommendations in the DLL Policy Platform (2020) and the state’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care (2020), the DLL Pilot has been a critical implementation phase for building various initial systemic supports for DLL children and families across 16 counties in California.  

The monthly Communities of Practice (CoP) have been an important space for collective learning: uplifting lessons learned and bright spots across the counties and identifying continued needs to ensure scaling and sustainability of supports for DLL children and families beyond June 2022, when the DLL Pilot funding sunsets.  

Key highlights and policy implications from the monthly CoP are as follows. Click on the links for more information. 

• May 2021 – Identification of DLL children to provide effective, culturally and linguistically responsive family engagement: Significance of AB 1363 in state preschool and beyond 
• June 2021 – Building Quality Counts California (QCC) to support DLLs: Importance of clear guidance and funding from the state to integrate cultural and linguistic responsiveness 
• July 2021 – Virtual DLL trainings & implementation supports: Importance of state funding and supports to provide culturally and linguistically relevant DLL trainings 
• August 2021 - Engaging and supporting DLL families: Importance of concerted communications campaign and messaging about the benefits of multilingualism 
• September 2021 – Culturally and linguistically authentic professional development: Importance of DLL professional development in the educators’ home languages 
• October 2021 – Implementing asset-based DLL campaigns: Need for concerted communications efforts on sustaining the home language and benefits of bilingualism  
• November 2021 – DLL CoP Mid-Point Check-in: High-level project updates from all counties on effective strategies, key successes, challenges, and lessons learned to date 
• January 2022 – Embedding DLL strategies in local QCC infrastructure: Discussion on needs for sustainability  
• February 2022 – Highlights coming soon!  

This blog is part of the new series about the First 5 California DLL Pilot Communities of Practice (CoP) by Catalyst California, Early Edge California, and the Glen Price Group (GPG) in partnership with First 5 California and the California Department of Education. 

Selected in each region of the state based on the percentage of DLL children, diversity of languages represented, and presence of existing initiatives to support DLLs, the 16 counties in the DLL Pilot Expansion Phase are as follows: 

• Butte 
• Calaveras 
• Contra Costa 
• Fresno 
• Los Angeles 
• Monterey 
• Orange 
• Riverside 
• Sacramento 
• San Diego 
• San Francisco 
• Santa Barbara 
• Santa Clara 
• Sonoma 
• Stanislaus 
• Yolo