Young dual-language learners represent 60 percent of the 0-5 population in California, and most of the state’s English learners can be found in the early elementary grades. These demographics have compelled state education advocates to coalesce around the need to develop stronger strategies and messages to ensure that the needs of young dual-language learners are considered in pre-K-3^rd grade policy.

To help advance advocacy on behalf of young dual-language learners in California, the Heising-Simons Foundation has helped launch California’s Gold: Capitalizing on California’s Diversity Today, for a Brighter Tomorrow, an advocacy framework and resource website authored by Dr. Marlene Zepeda and written after extensive consultation with the early childhood education field.

These resources represent a novel approach to spotlighting the needs of this large and growing portion of the young child population. California’s Gold elevates four areas for action that are critical to a high-quality Pre-K-3^rd grade system: workforce development, curriculum and instruction, assessment, and an aligned Pre-K-3^rd grade system. If attended to, these areas could significantly advance the education of dual-language learners and strengthen the state’s early learning system.

We invite you to explore the full website here.