Classes for teachers to meet teacher certification requirements for English Learners are conducted by the HCOE English Learner Curriculum Specialist. The schedules of class sessions, costs and eligibility information can be found on the HCOE Professional Development Page.
School staff can also get information about best practices for delivering services to ELLs, teacher certification requirements and required state testing (including CELDT and the Standards Test in Spanish) from the EL Curriculum Specialist.
The English Learner Collaborative meets monthly to support teachers, administrators and instructional aides in providing the best possible education for their district’s English learners. The EL Collaborative includes professional development, resource sharing, feeder school coordination, updates on state requirements and educational research, an online archive, and discussions on topics important to the group.
Multiple languages are critical to participating effectively in global political, social, cultural, and economic arenas; and the demand for employees to be fluent in more than one language is increasing rapidly in California and throughout the world.
As a result, the California Department of Education established the Seal of Biliteracy in 2012 to formally recognize biliteracy as an asset for graduating high school seniors by certifying a high level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in at least 2 languages, one of which is English. The Seal of Biliteracy is added to graduates’ diplomas as a statement of accomplishment for college admissions and future employers.