The Consortium for Multilingual Learner Success is a regional collective in Los Angeles led by co-chairs, Alliance for a Better Community and Californians Together, with an advisory committee of nine organizations including academic, research, community, and policy and advocacy organizations to uplift what we know about good policies, programs, and practices for multilingual learners.
Working to support the success of multilingual learners is important given that during the 2023-2024 school year, there were 228,626 multilingual learner students in LA county, the highest number in any county in California and they are the fastest-growing segment of California’s public school students.
History
The Consortium began working together in 2018 and now comprises nearly 100 civil rights, policy, research, philanthropic, educator and community-based organizations working to strengthen the prosperity of California and Los Angeles County by advocating for an educational system that fully supports the needs and embraces the assets of multilingual students.
Advisory Members
Policy Agenda
The Consortium for Multilingual Learner Success’ advisory members have published a Policy Agenda outlining key values, priorities, and recommendations at both local and state levels. This overview reflects the dedicated efforts led by the Consortium.
Advocacy
In May 2024, Consortium Co-Chairs, ABC and Californians Together, led a delegation to Sacramento alongside grassroots advisory committee members Promesa Boyle Heights and Parent Organization Network!
In discussions with key stakeholders, including the offices of Assembly Members Toni Atkins and Robert Rivas, and Senators Mike McGuire, Josh Newman, and John Laird, we emphasized budget priorities for 2024-2025 and uplifted community stories while discussing key bills such as AB 1947, AB 2071, AB 2074, and AB 2268. With over 1.12 million English learners in California, prioritizing their needs is crucial.
Workgroups
The Consortium has two workgroups, one focused on policy and another focused on grassroots organizing. The workgroups concentrate on addressing the barriers elevated with the support of parents, researchers, policymakers, and local leaders in their unique way. They work hand in hand yet focus on their distinct approaches to advocacy which allow The Consortium for Multilingual Learner Success to continue elevating parents and students as active participants in shaping education policy.
Interested in signing up for our workgroups? Click below!
Narrative Change
To increase the visibility and urgency of expanding support for multilingual learner students in Los Angeles County, the Consortium for Multilingual Learner Success was granted funds to develop and implement a narrative change campaign. In the context of social movements, narrative change is about shifting the values, beliefs, mindsets and assumptions that shape how people see the world and each other.
Phase 1 of the project, carried out in 2023, focused on developing a narrative in collaboration with 10 partners representing diverse perspectives in the ecosystem of advocacy and support for English Learners students. The narrative development process included the identification of values, dominant and new narratives, goals, audiences, effective stories and storytellers, community-based testing of narrative frames, and offering promising central narrative ideas for further testing through research.
Are you interested in getting involved? Sign up for the Grassroots Organizing Workgroup!
Resources
Check out our Convening recordings and resources we have shared at past Consortium Convenings!
Stay Informed
Sign up for our email list to receive resources, event reminders, and workgroup invitations straight to your inbox!
Interested in learning more about the Consortium for Multilingual Learner Success? Reach out to ABC’s Senior Manager of Policy & Advocacy, Jennifer Cano, at jennifer@afabc.org.