On February 25th, 2026, the "Working Group" of Southwark staff that I lead submitted this board testimony, which advocates for increased solidarity with immigrant families facing heightened fear from ICE activity, as well as explicit, mandatory training and consistent messaging from SDP regarding safety guidelines and protocols, expanded bilingual health resources, clear virtual learning options, and specialized training for counselors to better assist impacted students.  

On February 27th, 2025, I testified before the Board of Education regarding the urgent need for SDP to adopt an unapologetically asset-based approach to our multilingual immigrant students and families. In my testimony I advocated for strengthening our multilingual programs by developing specific recruitment processes for passionate multilingual school staff, expanding dual language programs into high schools, and increasing funding for multilingual curriculum,  professional development, and coaching.

As a dual language kindergarten teacher and doctoral student, I wrote this *proposed* memo to urge the School District of Philadelphia to add a Dual Language (DL) program enrollment indicator to the Student Information System (SIS), after discovering its absence while trying to analyze student data for a graduate assignment. By manually creating the indicator myself, I demonstrated how such a tool could help us better assess equity, representation, and program effectiveness—crucial steps if we are serious about supporting and expanding DL programs districtwide.

As the author of this op-ed, I argue from my experience as a Dual Language teacher that English Learners with disabilities are unjustly excluded from dual language programs due to deficit mindsets and misguided beliefs about bilingualism. I emphasize that Policy 138 mandates equitable access for these students, and that denying them bilingual education not only violates their rights but also harms their academic success, cultural identity, and community connections.