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Why Traditional Education Fails Multilingual Learners—And What to Do About It · Hart & Hustle Podcast

• Efrain: Welcome back to the Heart and Hustle Podcast. We got two guests today. We got Miss Patty. We got Miss Anya in the building from the organization. Patty, what organization is it? Patty Chavez | SEAL: SEAL, Sobrato Early Academic Language. Welcome. SEAL.org. Efrain: Love, and how long have you been part of SEAL? Patty Chavez | SEAL: I have been with SEAL a little over four years now. Yeah. Efrain: Love it. And what is your role? Patty Chavez | SEAL: I oversee policy comms and development. So really integrating our story, what we're learning in the fields, and can then connecting with partners to expand our supports for multilingual learners. Efrain: Perfect. And then we have Miss Anya. How are you today? Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Thank you. Excited to be here. Efrain: And your role? Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: I am executive director and president of SEAL, and I have been here for a long time. I joined as deputy director when we were just a program inside a foundation in 2014 and then became executive director and helped spin us out to become an independent 501c3 independent nonprofit. And yeah, excited to share a little bit about the magic we bring to the world. Efrain: Same, I'm excited to have both of you guys here. A lot of the times it's always just one face, but to have two representatives from an organization, Anya, like you mentioned, you were it at very infant stages. Today you guys are no longer just crawling. You guys probably no longer walking. You are running. what do you what what do you say kind of helped you guys to that space, Anya, over the years? Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Well, what we do is very special, and on multiple levels. So at the very core. We believe in children's assets and we believe in children's linguistic and cultural assets. And we understand that our schools are not designed for the most part to leverage the beautiful, diverse assets, linguistic and cultural assets that children bring to school and that families embody. And so from the beginning, we were bringing together the most the smartest, most engaging and rich, rigorous. approaches to really thinking differently about how can school look just dramatically different for the for the our youngest English learner multilingual learner students so we started there with this kind of gem of of a practice and of a model And then we've been growing it and changing and really thinking about how do we adapt and how do we bring our our expertise and our magic to different communities and wider spaces, but at the same time holding true to what we do. And what makes us different and what is our main contribution to the world. And I'll just say a big piece of it is about the joy of learning, the joy of teaching, that that education should be joyful, that rigor and joy go hand in hand, and that we want to bring that for children, and we want to bring that for the grown-ups that are working with them. And those two things are just absolutely interconnected. Efrain: Love it. I love that. And Patty, when you think about you joining this organization, what keeps you there? Like it's something about joining an organization, but it's something that keeps us there. What is that thing that keeps you there? Patty Chavez | SEAL: Absolutely. I came from nonprofit, so I've been a nonprofit work for 25 years dating myself in community work. and really when I had this opportunity with SEAL, it was really calling to me not just on a professional level but a personal level. You know, working in social services, providing families with access to Healthcare, housing, working with a lot of families and schools to support their students for their opportunities and for growth. We never talked about language. You know, we we talked about it in terms of of translating materials, but really not celebrating the language and the asset that was coming into that community because language connects families, right? And we talk about how families are not connected to the schools. Well, there's a language barrier and there's a cultural barrier and that language brings it together. there is opportunities for that student for economic growth, for academic advancement. so multilingualism is is so important in so many aspects of our community, sustainability. so professionally Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: So Patty Chavez | SEAL: that called to me and then personally, I come from a family. We had Spanish at home, right? But we didn't speak it outside the home because it it wasn't welcome. You know, you I went to school at a time where I had to leave who I was at the door. I couldn't speak Spanish or we would get in trouble. It does something to us a child, and then you have to kind of reclaim your language. Then you get into high school, right? And they tell you, learn another language. That's gonna be important for your, you know, your academic and for workforce. I'm like, hello, I have that at home. What are you guys talking about? So we want to open that up for our family. So there are families who are speaking other languages with sixty percent right, Anya. of children speak another language at home. Imagine that. What an opportunity. So that's what keeps me here. Is this boat. Efrain: Yeah. That's that's funny you say that, Patty, because of course, me being Latino, I my mom would speak Spanish to me at home. I just would respond back in English. And I wonder why. Like what was the reason behind it? it could have definitely been a lot of that. I I don't think that I ever really sat here and thought about it, but it is very true. Now people say, Are you teaching your kids Spanish? I'm like, trying. Like I perf comfortable in English because no one ever told me the benefits of it either. You know what I mean? Until later on in life, as you mentioned, it's like you have to learn that second language. But how are we actually implementing that at early stages? Anya, with Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Yeah. Efrain: you being in this organization for as long as you have, what brought you to the organization? What made you feel like this is where I want to invest my time? Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: So I wanna just build on what you said and and make a connection. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: we see children, three, four, five year olds, within weeks, they stop responding to their own family in their home language. So we really understand that this is a critical time and moment. Children are sponges, they're clay, they're molding, they're growing, their brains are endlessly possible. And our schools have huge impact on what happens for them and that trajectory. And so you know, your story is not unlike other stories. In many ways, it is the American story, right? To lose we are a country of immigrants and Efrain: Mm-hmm. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: over the years, so many people, so many cultures have lost their home language. And yet the research is really clear that As humans, one of our superpowers is language. You know, you have cultures and places in the world where people speak five, six different languages. This is what we're wired for. And we also know from brain science that there are parts of your brain that don't get activated if you're not multilingual, just like playing instruments. So again, it's like, what are we doing here? What how are we designing this? And are we doing it purposefully to subtract? Is this a subtractive process? Or is this an asset base? So for me, you know, in my experience as a teacher, as an educator, I was unprepared. The systems I worked in did not adequately support students. I felt the harm that I was participating. You know, I could see that it was not just my sole responsibility, that was part of something. and I very early on To do my work and work professionally in education. I saw the value of education in a democracy, in a thriving democracy. I saw the potential, and yet what was, you know, flew in the face of what was happening each and every day. I grew up in New York City. Very lucky and fortunate to have all four of my grandparents live purposeful, justice-driven lives. You know, and so I kind of like wasn't really a choice for me to Efrain: Yeah. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: think about okay, what am I going to do? Do, but education was the place that I wanted to focus. And through my career, I found different approaches and different models that gave me hope. For honestly, what I saw was a very broken system and a broken reality. And along the way, I learned about SEAL, I learned about Dr. Laurie Olsen, who was the founder and the original director of our model. And the work that was happening, and it just gave me so much hope. And I could see, I mean, the hope really is in going Efrain: Yeah. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: into the classroom and seeing what's happening and seeing the children and their potential being maximized in multiple languages, the learning, the rich, deep, content-based learning. and the teachers feeling motivated, engaged. And you know, we we have stories of young teachers who thought they would leave the profession because it was just so difficult, who decided to stay and became some of Our model teachers, and we have people who have told us over the years they were going to retire, and they decided to put another 10 years in because they partnered, their school partnered with our organization, and it brought back the joy of teaching and learning for them. So that, you know, being part of that was just it was very clear to me I needed to be involved. Efrain: Where are you guys located right now, Anya? Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: I live in Berkeley, California. So and and our work currently is very focused in California, but we are just kind of really leaning into our national strategy. so we're excited to be bringing our magic to more and more places and people. Efrain: The only reason I ask is at some point I started laughing and smiling to myself because I'm like, Anya has to be from New York. And then you said, I'm from New York. And I just like I felt the New York vibe, Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Okay. Patty Chavez | SEAL: Yeah. Efrain: Moffie. There's something about New York people that you guys have. I don't know what it is. But I'm like, She's Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: What more? Patty Chavez | SEAL: Mm-hmm. Efrain: from New York. I'm gonna ask where she's from and then you say yeah. I'm like, I just started Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Ha ha ha. Efrain: smiling and laughing to myself. Like, yeah, she sure is. Where are you from, Patty? Patty Chavez | SEAL: Originally the LA area, but I'm in San Diego now. So I've raised my family in San Diego. Stayed in the West Coast, California girl. Efrain: Stayed in the West Coast the whole time. You missed out, man. The East Coast is where it's at. I'm just Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Mm-hmm. Efrain: saying. Now, Anya, you you you wanted something where you talk about just educators. One, I think the educators in the public school system are underrated and underpaid. I think we all could probably agree upon that. But it is so cool when I see and I've seen a lot of educators that have left the education system because ideally you're almost kind of boxed in to this is how you do it. But leaving and and being a part of an organization allows you to really be creative, allow you to do the things that you really want to do at a high level. I have a board member now on the on my board that she was 36 years as a school secretary. And Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Mm. Efrain: one of the things she tells me is like, yo, I feel like I leave here with nothing. You know, she's like, I'm so happy that you're living out your dreams. I'm like, why do you say that? Do you know how many kids that you've actually touched their lives, you know, and and allowed them to be who they are today because you showed up every single day. I am one of those individuals. So even when I thought about the event that we just put together, I was very strategically inviting those old educators, the former educators that poured into me, you know, because there was times where I didn't realize who I would become. But I was going through this yearbook almost 20 years later, this educator was not my former teacher, but I seen her in the hallways. wrote something so compelling that I'm like, man, she seen something in me before I even knew that Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Yes. Efrain: I'll become this. Right. And a lot of those people leave, those great educators leave the school system, become part of an organization. And as you mentioned, Anya, 36-year-old you know school secretary, I tell her all the time, you can now do more with your time. You're not just limited to what they tell you you can do. You can move mountains. And I think Both you ladies are a space where you're truly moving mountains and you don't have this box around you. You can be creative. I think in the nonprofit space more than ever. I challenge our young individuals to say, What do you love? Go find you a nonprofit. I guarantee you there's one that is in that sector. And there's nothing like fertilizing the future, giving back, allowing people the hope, right, through the storytelling. Patty, do you have a story that allows you to kind of always remember the why, to never lose focus on why you started it all? Patty Chavez | SEAL: Yeah, no, and and you hit it right on the dot. You said earlier that you're you're trying to help your own children become multilingual. I did the same thing, but I didn't have family around me. So you can't we can't do it alone. To your point is we need families, we need those teachers, we need that community that is supporting and education connects us all, and so does multilingualism in every different way. So I mean gr growing up, I think I mentioned this, we we didn't speak Spanish outside of the home. Most of my parents would say, We don't want to, you know, be deep be disrespectful to anyone else. Then you go to the school and they tell you don't speak Spanish, right? And then they you're talk and you're seeing you're seeing the future and there's no multilingual. There's nobody talking about it, nobody celebrating it. So what happened for me is you start getting embarrassed and you don't want to talk about it. And you think opportunity is only going to come because you speak English. My dad's like, you don't, you shouldn't have an accent. Make sure you go to college. and I think that's such the unfortunate thing. I and I I I wish I would have known now. you know, it's always the story. If I knew then, even when I was Efrain: Mm-hmm. Patty Chavez | SEAL: helping my children, my my children are launched, they're adults, they're launched. But going to school, what should I have seen in school? What should I have asked for for my own kids so that they would have, you know, that those benefits and that celebration of the language and the culture because that's connected to it, plus their academics all rolled in at once. So I think for my story, I just think of my dad. You know, my dad is he reads four different newspapers still to this day, walks and takes, you know, buys it. And he reads it in English and in Spanish. Yeah, in the morning, in La Mañanita. There he goes. Efrain: What a what a cup of coffee and maybe some crackers. That's usually the Spanish household. Patty Chavez | SEAL: And he walks and I'm like, Dad, you're still walking. And he reads, but but he still's not Feeling he doesn't feel confident to have a conversation in English, even though he reads perfectly and even though he can, right? And and to think of him and think, you know, I I I want to honor him and what he gave us. and I was a terrible teenager because I didn't want to speak Spanish at home. but come back and show you're right. This was an asset. This was very important. Efrain: Yeah. To this day sometimes, especially in the world of like media, I'm like I wish I was really more confident and able to really Patty Chavez | SEAL: Yeah. Efrain: do Spanish because if I could do media in English and in Spanish, like, wow, what what a game changer that would really be for me. And I could probably do it if I try hard enough. But you know, as an adult, it's like we got a lot of things to try hard enough on. So you know, but now talking to you ladies, I feel like I'm being at this surface here. So now I gotta I gotta step up the work a little bit. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Well, they also do say and they do say just Patty Chavez | SEAL: Every step it's important. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: like playing instruments, it is prevents Alzheimer's and dementia. So I mean there's multiple reasons to really push yourself, as well as the fact that, you know, it's in your brain. Like when you were a kid, you know, it was it was active, it was there. And so it what it would take a not you know, a child, grown up who hadn't had that experience as a child to learn a second language. Will come much faster to you. So it definitely is. there are multiple benefits for it, but it's exactly why we talk about the design of our schools, right? So Patty mentioned this before. It's in high school that that to be college ready, college and career ready, we require a foreign language. And yet In so many of our s of our communities, certainly here in California, but across the country, we have children who have that multilingualism already, you know, they've already been steeped in it. It's already, you know, their brain is already firing off on that level. And yet we're not welcoming that and bringing that and building on that. In the school were waiting till their high school when literally the brain's ability to learn language is deteriorating. It's going down from eight years old onward, it goes down. And so, you know, it's just it it makes really no sense. It's not research-based. we know that and we see in the work that we do what's possible, but we have to remove the barriers. You know, I agree with you. One of the the reasons I love the field of education is because. There's so many ways to do our work. There's so many ways to reinvent ourselves without losing our passion for education and for children and for families. And I will also say that we have to reimagine what it is to be an educator inside our systems and make it so that it doesn't burn us out and burn young teach young teachers out. That the system actually is designed to support them. And not to extract them, extract from them in it in order to for them to have an impact and do their work. And so, I mean, I at the end of the day, that's what SEAL is committed to do. You know, we want to work, we work directly with teachers, but we think systemically and we think about what is it gonna take for us to reimagine so that we are leveraging our greatest asset, our young people, you know, and not only is it right for them and for their humanity, for their identity, their socio-emotional. But it there's an economic imperative here, right? We live in a global society, learning and speaking multiple languages, being able to understand the nuance of cross-cultural and linguistic difference and the jokes and the beauty and the, you know, it's nuanced when you when you're in that space. That is what they need to go live in a global society and be global citizens and leaders and successful. And so, you know, it really is a yes and. It's it's so you know, for us it feels obvious, but it's so there, there's so much possibility and abundance in that mindset and what we can see, how it transforms schools. and so we're very committed. We're part of a 10-year campaign in California. By twenty thirty-six, our aim is for California to be a multilingual education school system, the entire school system. we're in we're we're part of this campaign and coalition. it's called the Multilingual Education for All campaign. and we work closely with our lead, which is California's Together, but we're very committed to really figuring out how to redesign because it is it's really the only path forward, particularly now in the face of what we're seeing. You know, this is the first time ever that English is the official language of this country. That was the the founding fathers did not make English the official language. intentionally. I mean they were only considering and valuing European languages, but they were very clear that they believed in the value of multiple languages. And so it is just, you know, it flies in the face of research and what we know is right. And so, you know, this this notion of a multilingual world and a mul multilingual democracy is absolutely the path forward. Efrain: you guys think the reason you guys seen so much success and you guys been able to really pivot is because you had educators that understood the system and brought that value to the table? Cause I believe that it doesn't happen without those educators that truly walk the walk and now they're able to spread their wings and and do what they know is right. Do you think that's what allows you guys to continue to to move forward and and and grow, Anya? Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: I mean, we are very lucky. We have our colleagues. At SEAL are master educators, master teachers who understand deeply what this, you know, it and and teaching is is a both an art and a science. It is not either or it is really the hardest work, as far as I'm concerned, that exists to actually see and leverage every child's potential in your classroom. so we are very lucky and we believe deeply in the work of educators, and we understand the role of leaders and not just like the super. Superintendent or the principal, but there's leaders across any education system that are necessary to really make the whole system work together. and then you know, we have an incredible team of our own admin and operations and really understanding nonprofits. You know, we were talking this, they're a unique business model, and they are they are unique, they require a unique set of skills and understanding and mindsets where businesses. But our our bottom line isn't profit. But nonetheless, we have to be economically sustainable. And so, you know, it we have to really be smart about how we navigate the world and and what we're trying to accomplish. And so we're very lucky to have incredible nonprofit leaders and and operations team. and then I would I would say part of of the equation that has been really amazing and has allowed us to To flourish is really thinking about the value of private funds, private philanthropy, and public dollars, and leveraging both and understanding, particularly when we're talking about a broken system, that both need to be unleashed in order to have the kind of potential that we want, that research-based, justice-driven education requires investment. It's not cheap and it's not something you just plug and play. and so, you know, what does it look like? How can we be efficient and effective and smart about our use of resources, but not water down or or try to undervalue what we're doing and how we're doing it? So it's been a mix of things, but definitely we're very clear. The actor, we say, that we're trying to influence first and foremost is the teacher on behalf of the student. Of course, the student's at the core, but we're trying to make teachers better, stronger, to unleash their potential and their masterful, you know, work in the classroom. And so, you know, we ground ourselves there and understanding their role. And then everything else is on behalf of creating the conditions for them. Patty Chavez | SEAL: And if I can add really quickly to that, I think Efrain: Got it. Yeah, go ahead, Patty. Patty Chavez | SEAL: a uniqueness uniqueness is that we have practice, we have research, and we have policy. So we're really looking at what's evidence-based, what's going to help in the classrooms with the teachers, and then we're sharing that with the community because we can't do this alone. So we share with our advocacy partners who are working with state leaders, who are working with local leaders, and really looking at how do we bring support. And obviously we can't do this without our funders. But I think that this one point is obviously there's academic rigor there. But this approach is for everyone, not just multilingual learners. So this supports all students in the approach. And part of that very unique approach that I love to share and when I came on was just what hooked me is that there's joy in that classroom. You walk into that classroom, you feel the joy. You have kids interacting. You have them thinking out loud, whether it's in English or they're, you know, or it's it's multilingual. So the families are seeing it there. the teachers have joy too and they should have joy. It's a tough job. So I I think that's a part of this little this this little mix that we have in there that's very unique that supports our outreach. Efrain: So correct my wrong here, you guys work with schools and you guys have your own programs as well in your own facilities, or is it just working with the schools across the counties? Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Yes, we work with schools across districts and and counties. so we are not a direct operator. Our work is is what we consider our direct impact work is directly with schools and districts and educators. So yeah, we are really in that we think of it as professional learning space, but we have also begun partnering with other organizations, other products, other tools to try to bring our expertise into their program. or into their resources. And so that's kind of work we're doing. We call it our ecosystem work. Like how are we and honestly that's our s our biggest scaling strategy. You know, we will continue to expand, we will continue to work with more and more schools and districts. We're looking at other states where we feel like we can have an impact That being said, we are not trying to grow our team so that we could touch every multilingual learner or every classroom in this country. We're really thinking about okay, how can we through partnership work with other organizations and other resources, curricula, institutes of higher ed to make sure that our expertise, our unique value add, you know, which which we consider and we've heard back from the field is gold standard. How can we bring that into their product or their strategy to have a scaled impact. Efrain: Got it. Patty, how big is the team? Patty Chavez | SEAL: We're almost forty, I think, team, with the most Efrain: Pretty big team. Patty Chavez | SEAL: percentage of is our our educators, yeah. Efrain: Love it. Yeah, I will tell you, facilitating is not easy. but it's fun. And you know, one of the things that I talk about that secretary for thirty six years, one thing she always tells me, Eframe, it's not fun, it won't get done. And you guys are talking about it, right? It's like you got to Patty Chavez | SEAL: Okay. Efrain: just kind of bring that excitement, the joy. You guys use the word joy. what does that look like in the classroom? The fun, the the wanting to show up, right? Giving someone the reason to show up. I think as adults we talk about experiences, but that really starts from young. as as young individuals, Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Definitely. Efrain: we love a good experience. So what does that look like in the classrooms as well? and I I think we're seeing a lot of shifts and changes. I'll be real quite frank, is that my daughter, she's five years old, so kind of in that kindergarten space, she's being homeschooled, right? And just really seeing the difference of what that looks like when you could create that curriculum and you're spending that time. Patty Chavez | SEAL: Mm-hmm. Efrain: And I think a lot of our especially here in Florida, we've we've closed seven public schools this year. And I think the decrease in students in a public school is like eight thousand because so Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Yeah. Efrain: many more people are going that direction. Do you feel that that's why we're seeing that shift is cause more people want to curate exactly what you guys are talking about in the classroom? Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Yeah, I mean, I think certainly the pandemic was a big part, right? Which where all of a sudden we were home with our kids and we the idea of homeschool became the reality for us. And so I think people or or even just observing it, someone else with their kids or your sister with their k you know, and so I think it it opened up a lot for us in terms of what it what it even means. I do definitely think that. As I said earlier, you know, our schools are have have struggled. and so the vast majority of schools are not designed Patty Chavez | SEAL: Yeah. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: to support each and every student in their unique, incredible assets and potential. And so I think parents are feeling like, is my kid gonna thrive here fully? You know, and so that's a big push as well. I know that, and having friends that have homeschooled like, and We have to then look for the opportunities that our children can be part of community, right? That they can Efrain: Mm-hmm. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: learn how to be in community, how to be part of a bigger thing beyond the family, you know, and because that is a very important part of the school experience. Of course, it's the learning, it's learning to read and write and do math, but there's also this piece about understanding who I am and the and the importance of community, and that there are times when. We make sacrifices for other people, you know, and we have to adjust and negotiate, you know, so that everybody gets the best possible that may not be the same as what I want or what I need what I feel like I need in this particular moment. So I think it's a it's a it's it's an important thing to really take on and to understand how difficult what we're doing in schools actually is. It's not easy what we're trying to accomplish. Public education in many ways is supposed to solve All the problems of society. We're supposed to solve poverty. We're supposed to solve, you know, socio-emotional issues. We're supposed to solve, you know, kids coming from all sorts of family backgrounds where there's all sorts of things happening, and we're supposed to, each kid is supposed to hit that same ac academic success, right? And so at the end of the day, we need to. build our schools to be able to do that in a very different way and and we haven't for in mass we haven't done that to date. I will say I wanna I wanna say about your your board member, because I think one of the things I've seen In almost every school community that's thriving. If not, I can say probably every school community that's thriving. That role of the of the secretary, of the the office manager is critical. It's critical. That every family that walks in that door feels welcome. Guess what they need? That doesn't mean they can speak to the principal immediately if that's what they came to do, you know, but how do you treat them with respect? How do you make sure that they can communicate fully? how do you every child that comes in feels valued, feels seen. You know, it is an incredible job. We don't understand it. It i in many ways it is the first, you know, it is a it it it's one of the the entry points of the culturists that they're they're holding Efrain: Yeah. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: the school culture because that's when you walk through the office door that's who you meet right and so and the value of multilingualism is incredible when those you know those key staff can welcome or and and or and or can access other staff or other resources, that makes a huge difference. And we know that the connection, the connective tissue between families and school is critical. That's where kids thrive is when they feel that their home and their family isn't othered by the school. They they who they are as a family member, as a community member culturally is not being othered By what's happening in school. That's when what kids need to thrive. And so I just wanted to underscore her Efrain: Yeah. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: value, you know, that that it it can feel working in these systems for decades can feel you know, you you feel burnt out at the end of it. And Efrain: Yeah. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: at the end of the day, what she's brought each and every day has just been, you know, so valued, I'm sure. Efrain: I'm gonna share with her this clip because I tell that all the time. And even like so many parents that I've spoken to that may be on the board, could have sent their kids to any other school because they had the dollars to do so. So they wanted to send them to a private school or charter school, but they chose the specific specific school because of how her name is Ms. Lopez, how Ms. Lopez made them feel, how she, Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Exactly. Efrain: you know, how she welcomed them and really gave them the tour and really made them feel comfortable enough to say, you know what? Even though I got the money to go put my kids in private school and they you know, I'm going to put him at this school because I can see where this is going to be very beneficial and because the way she made me feel. So sometimes we just do the work because this is who we are. We're not realizing the impact. And it looks like both you ladies are in spaces where you guys do this, always say it out of passion and purpose. Sometimes don't even realize the work that you guys are doing and the seeds that you guys are planted planting that someone, whether it's a former educator, an educator currently, or even a student comes back and says, Patty and Anya, like you guys didn't know, but because of you I got this job because of you is is, you know, XYZ. And I believe in an educat educational space, you guys won't see that until you probably walk away from it. Right. For you guys it's just doing what is in your heart. but there's so much more that really comes with it. Again, those seeds that are planted that will one day become something greater than what you even imagine. So kudos to both you ladies for just being those selfless individuals that just want to see s someone else. have a better opportunity than maybe what you've received during your time at public schools. you know, so shout out to both of you. Patty, I I would actually leave off with someone like is what would you want to, I'm a countability partner here, what do you want to see happen within the organization personally and professionally within the next three years? Patty Chavez | SEAL: Yeah. we want to be part of of Efrain: Don't forget that Anya's listening too. Patty Chavez | SEAL: a growing movement supporting this growing movement so that everyone feels that multilingualism is a benefit. So it doesn't, like Anya said, doesn't other anyone that we're there celebrating that this is an asset, that any child doesn't feel little or different, that they're walking in feeling confident, the parents are confident, that the community is confident and it's surrounded. So for those of us raising kids and trying to teach them another language, that we have that support. So I'd like to see SEAL being the forefront, sharing what we're learning, not just from the practice side, but from the research side and that we can elevate this and support our community. Efrain: that. Ani, I would actually want to talk about I'm asking that same question, but Patty mentioned a couple of different things and you guys mentioned it throughout is that communication piece to get people the information, to allow them to know what's out there, to you know, the research that you guys are are doing, you guys provide it back to the communities. How are you guys actually sharing that? Is it newsletters? Is it people being able to scan a QR code? Like how are we getting that message out? Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Well, Patty's really the mastermind behind all that. So I'll get us started, but she will definitely probably want to add on. yes, and all of the above, you know, we really try to explore all the channels in terms of getting our messages, our resources, our stories out to all different audiences. we recently released an incredible guidebook on multilingual learners with disabilities. These are the children, in many ways, are the most marginalized. children who are both English learners and also have a special education disability that they have been diagnosed, and very few school systems have adequate resources and know how to center those students and treat them in asset-based ways, both around their learning differences and around their linguistic needs and assets. And so So that is a great example, and we put that out in lots of different ways. We do conferences and we have an incredible set of partner organizations, research entities, but also advocacy organizations and other professional learning organizations. And so we do lots of cross-promotion across, but Patty's really and her team have built an a a machine, you know, that really gets our word out there in a way that it was not prior to her tenure was was not happening at all. So I will let her share a little bit more. Efrain: Okay, Patty, tell us the sauce. Tell us the secret sauce, girl. It was you. Patty Chavez | SEAL: that's very nice. We we have such amazing information and it and it serves everyone. Our our educators, our leaders, our parents, our community members. So our website really has a lot of open source information benefit strategies. And we were talking about how to work with kids at home, practical approaches. And while some of it is geared for teachers, we have an amazing YouTube page where we could bring you into the classroom. You can see how the teachers are interacting with with their students. You see how that language is developing. No more is the day where somebody gives you a spreadsheet, you know, a worksheet and says, sit down, just do the worksheet. Our kids are interacting. So that's the beauty of it. So website, social media at at seal at equity, our YouTube page as well. So but please know our handles. We'll share them out and our website, we have a newsletter. where we not just share information that we have but we try to curate information from all our partners and really it is oversharing. maybe it's a lot of oversharing, but we know that then the information will get to the individual who can utilize the resources. So yes. Yes, thank you. Seal.org, sign up for a newsletter. Efrain: And that website is seal dot org, am I correct? All right, plug it in, plug it in. Patty Chavez | SEAL: We won't bombard you once a month. And then our handle is at seal at equity. Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and then our YouTube page. Efrain: Thank you so much for that information. And Anya, close us off, accountability partner here. What are some of the things you're trying to see within the next three to five years? Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: So I mentioned earlier we're really leaning into a national strategy and we're trying to do that in the most strategic way. So we are part of an incredible coalition of organizations and individuals and entities moving a multilingual vision in California. And so we want to stay at the forefront of that and double down on it while also really thinking about what are the best and strongest ways to bring our work to a wider set of organizations, but also individuals, thinking about are there some communities and states that we might go and work directly with teachers? And if so, how do we do that in a way You know, we're steeped in the California policy standards, you know, context, communities. So we know if we go to Indiana and we bring our work and and that's one of the, you know, those are some of the places where we have new pockets of immigrants that are dense, where educators are really want to do better by those kids and they're hungry for help and support. So we see those communities as really potential rich partners and places to to bring our Expertise, but if we do that, we need to partner in a way because we understand that you know within any implementation and the and really what drives implementation science is you have to have a clear model, but you also have to understand the context and it has to be implemented very contextually driven. and so it's a balance of those two things. So thinking about that, but also thinking about partnerships with curriculum, with with other institutes of higher ed. So what how could that bring our work more broadly? So you know doing doing this growth, but doing it not for growth sake, really with impact behind it. and making sure that we partner with Individuals and organizations that we share authentic shared vision and mission. I think it's very easy to partner and people say that they care about multilingual learners, but at the end of the day, the bottom line is what drives them, not necessarily the impact and the children. And so we want to make sure that as we explore this partnership, that we do it in a way where we're not discriminating too much and only talking to our friends, but at the same time, we're able to really really filter out and and be clear, like, are we in this for the same reason? Because we want our work at the end of the day to have impact, exponential impact. Efrain: Well, I believe it's it's it's happening right in front of us, to be quite frank. I think with some more time and some more great people that just want to be a part of it, I think you'll see this very flourish from where you guys are at today to seeing it throughout our country. Much needed. I mean, I'm in Orlando where it's very diverse, whether it's the Haitian culture, the Spanish culture. we see it all the time. I actually just had a conversation with someone the other day and it was like, sometimes the a Haitian mom or dad doesn't really understand that language barrier. So they tell their kids you gotta do this, but not realizing that is it really good or is it not good? there's so much really need, right? Not even from a student standpoint, but I think from a parent standpoint that may not know, 'cause they came here from a different country and they're just trying to Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Mm-hmm. Efrain: fit in. What does that actually look like? There's so much education to really go around and you guys are just to me almost kind of getting started on something that is going to take a lot of these school systems by storm. Because it is so so needed. Someone in Florida that is in Orlando that I felt like it's a melting pot can Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Mm. Efrain: definitely utilize something like that. And we're talking about Texas, also another melting pot, right? Of people. New York, another melting pot of people. Maybe going back home, Anya, to you know, where Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Definitely. Efrain: it roots all started. So thank you guys so much for just sharing the insight on something that people may not may not understand or may not even know. And that's why we have these conversations. You don't know what you don't know. But now today you were able to learn something new and hopes that we can continue to just move that wheel forward. But Patty, Anya, thank you so much for your time. If you guys are still watching, make sure that you guys do one, check out seal.org, S-E-A-L dot org. Check out some of the great, great things. There's a lot of education pieces. I mean from Family w webinar, family webinar, to literacy support, to ELD technical assistance, to kindergarten through sixth grade, just looking at all the great things you guys are doing. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Mm. Efrain: thank you guys. If you guys are still watching, like, subscribe and comment. Anya, Patty, I'll see you guys on the next one. Later. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: Yes. And thank you, Efraim, for your work. it's really wonderful and your value to the to our communities. So I appreciate you. Thank Efrain: But I'm not I'm not doing anything but just hosting a conversation. But appreciate you guys. You guys take care. Anya Hurwitz - SEAL: you.