Join WestEd at the 50th Annual California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) Conference, happening March 26–29, 2025, at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California.
This year’s theme, Honoring Our Past: Embracing Our Future, 50 Years of Bilingual Advocacy & Excellence, celebrates five decades of progress in bilingual education.
We’re partnering with leaders from Pittsburg Unified School District and the California Department of Education to present on key topics, including:
- accelerating academic language,
- the intersection of policy and research,
- dual-language classrooms,
- and professional learning communities.
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WestEd Sessions
March 27, 2025
Session: Re-envisioning Reclassification: Diving Deeper into the Observation Protocol for Teachers of English Learners (OPTEL)
Presenters: Emily Ingram (California Department of Education), Christine Snyder (WestEd), and Annie Duong (San Joaquin County Office of Education)
Time: 10:30 – 11:45am
Location: Long Beach Convention Center, Room: 102A
The California Department of Education, in partnership with WestEd and the Regional English Learner Specialists, is hosting a workshop to help educators better understand the linguistic skills assessed by the OPTEL.
Through interactive activities, participants will explore OPTEL performance levels and descriptors, focusing on the level and frequency of support students need. The session will also cover key concepts like: constructing meaning, engaging with grade-level complex texts, achieving parity with English-proficient peers, and effectively expressing grade-level ideas.
Session: Elevate Teaching: VITAL PLCs for Multilingual Excellence
Presenters: Krystal Diaz (WestEd), Johanna Barmore (WestEd), and Melissa Strand (WestEd)
Time: 1:30 – 2:45pm
Location: Broadline I&II
Experience the transformative power of structured PLCs using WestEd’s VITAL Framework designed to improve teaching and learning outcomes for our multilingual learners. In this session you’ll:
- engage in a “Standard Analysis Protocol” to seamlessly integrate CA ELD and content standards.
- learn how to incorporate practices and strategies that meet the needs of our MLs through collaborative and intentional lesson planning.
- transform and elevate your educational practice with purposeful collaboration and structured professional development.
Session: Accelerating Academic Language during Designated ELD through Purposeful Integration of Rigorous Curriculum and Keystone Pedagogies
Presenters: Sandra Guardado (Pittsburg Unified School District), Shelley Velasco (Pittsburg Unified School District), and Kathia Romo (WestEd)
Time: 3:15 – 4:30 pm
Location: Long Beach Convention Center, Room 203A
Academic language is essential for multilingual learners’ success and reclassification. This session explores how integrating sentence unpacking, collaborative summarizing, and text reconstruction into a rigorous science curriculum helps students actively engage in language during designated ELD. Learn practical strategies to enhance instruction and see how Pittsburg Unified School District’s partnership with WestEd has transformed designated ELD time. Walk away with actionable insights to apply in your classroom.
March 28, 2025
Session: The Intersection of Policy, Personalities, Politics and Research at the California Department of Education and its Powerful Impact on Bilingual Education Over the Past 50 Years
Presenters: Tom Adams (California Department of Education), Karen Cadiero-Kaplan (California Department of Education), Lupita Cortez-Alcalá (WestEd), Elena Fajardo (California Department of Education), Norm Gold (California Department of Education), Alesha Moreno-Ramirez (California Department of Education), and Dennis Parker (California Department of Education).
Time: 10:30 – 11:45am
Location: Long Beach Convention Center, Room 103 C
Join a panel of former California Department of Education (CDE) leaders who have spent over 50 years shaping bilingual education policy. They will share how bilingual education in California has evolved—from the 1970s to today—and the CDE’s role in its development, defense, and progress.
This session will explore key moments in bilingual education history, the impact of policy and politics, and how collaboration with advocates and external agencies has advanced biliteracy. Gain insights into lessons learned and the ongoing push for greater opportunities in bilingual education.
Session: Authentic Family Engagement to Promote Children’s Multilingualism
Presenters: Ann-Marie Wiese (WestEd), Osnat Zur (WestEd), Barbara Daniel (Fresno County Superintendent of Schools), and Matilda Soria (Fresno County Superintendent of Schools)
Time: 1:30 – 2:45pm
Location: Long Beach Convention Center, Room: 102A
This session will focus on an introduction to “Developing Authentic Partnerships with Families of Dual Language Learners,” a toolkit designed for educators working with children from birth to age five. This resource helps educators:
- reflect on their own identity, culture, and language to strengthen their practice.
- build trusting, respectful relationships with families of dual language learners.
- facilitate meaningful conversations about family language goals and everyday language learning.
Session: Wordless Books: Developing Oracy for Young Learners through Quality Interactions
Presenters: Johnpaul Lapid (WestEd)
Time: 3:15pm – 4:30pm
Location: Long Beach Convention Center, Room: 102B
Young English Learners must have opportunities to develop oracy by regularly interacting with culturally responsive complex texts, including wordless books, to deepen their conceptual understanding and foster language development. In this interactive session, participants will explore how to use wordless books to create meaningful learning experiences that support language development and conceptual understanding. Participants will also experience a lesson example focused on developing oracy through quality interactions, ideal for integrated ELA instruction.
Session: The Power of Collaborative Text Reconstruction in Dual Language Classrooms (will be delivered in Spanish) El poder de la reconstrucción colaborativa de texto en DLI
Presenters: Rosa Martinez-Ocasio (Pittsburg Unified School District), Maria Naranjo (Pittsburg Unified School District), Sandra Guardado (Pittsburg Unified School District), and Kathia Romo (WestEd)
Time: 5:00 – 6:15 pm
Location: Hyatt Regency Long Beach, Room Seaview C
This workshop explores how collaborative text reconstruction can actively engage dual-language learners in elementary classrooms. Used successfully in Pittsburg Unified School District, this approach helps students build language skills by working together to reconstruct complex texts.
Participants will learn how this strategy:
- deepens content understanding by focusing on meaning and key language features.
- develops writing skills through guided practice in text structure, organization, and effective communication.
March 29, 2025
Session: Proyectos de Rompecabezas en Español: Voz e Interacciones de Calidad
Presenters: Kathia Romo (WestEd)
Time: 10:45 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Long Beach Convention Center, Room 204
Basándose en la teoría del aprendizaje sociocultural, esta sesión involucra activamente a los participantes en una lección de ciencias desarrollada en un proyecto de rompecabezas sobre biomas. Los participantes analizarán la generatividad que ofrece el rompecabezas en la educación dual. Al centrarse en la voz estudiantil, y las interacciones de calidad, los educadores serán capacitados para poner en práctica actividades que profundizan la comprensión conceptual y amplían el desarrollo del lenguaje de los estudiantes.
English Translation: Drawing on sociocultural learning theory, this session actively engages participants in a jigsaw-based elementary science lesson on biomes and habitats and supports participants to experience and analyze the affordances and generativity of jigsaw projects in the elementary Spanish dual-language classroom. By focusing on student voice and quality interactions, educators are empowered to implement engaging and scaffolded instructional tasks that deepen students’ conceptual understanding and expand their language development.