Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and Deans of Education:

Re-Centering the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework Webinar Series

We invite you and the educators with whom you work to join us for an exciting webinar series designed to re-center the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework for California Public Schools (ELA/ELD Framework) as the primary guidance for teaching California students to read, write, speak, listen, and use language from transitional kindergarten through grade twelve.

Approved by the State Board of Education in 2014, the ELA/ELD Framework provides a blueprint for the implementation of two sets of interrelated standards: the California Common Core State Standards: ELA & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects and the California ELD Standards. The debate about how to teach literacy has gained much attention in the nation and the state in recent years. The ELA/ELD Framework, however, has long advocated for a comprehensive and integrated model of literacy that offers evidence-based literacy instruction in the classroom, including explicit instruction in phonics, phonemic awareness, and other decoding skills, as well as development of vocabulary, comprehension, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

We encourage all school, district, county, state, and institution of higher learning educators to attend this webinar series. The webinars will feature the primary writers of the ELA/ELD Framework, Dr. Hallie Yopp Slowik, Dr. Pamela Spycher, and Nancy Brynelson, and other special guests. Join us to learn:

• Why the document is as relevant today as it was in 2014.
• How it is organized by the themes of foundational skills, meaning making, language development, effective expression, and content knowledge.
• What it offers that teachers, specialists, consultants, and administrators can use immediately to improve literacy instruction and outcomes.
• How it supports State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond’s literacy campaign to ensure that all California students learn to read by third grade.

Through collaborative breakout sessions and thought-provoking discussions, we intend to familiarize educators with the contents of the ELA/ELD Framework, including best first instruction, effective intervention, and the California Dyslexia Guidelines within a Multi-Tiered System of Support. The webinar series will also highlight the promotion of multilingualism and biliteracy, culturally and linguistically affirming and sustaining instruction, and developmentally appropriate instruction for early learners.

Join us on this journey from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. on the following dates:

• September 26, 2023: Overview of the Framework and Defining Comprehensive Literacy (Register by September 22, 2023)
• October 10, 2023: Teaching Foundational Skills—Print Concepts, Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition, and Text Reading Fluency (Register by October 6, 2023)
• November 14, 2023: Teaching Integrated and Designated ELD and Promoting Multilingual Programs (Register by November 10, 2023)
• December 12, 2023: Teaching Language Development—Vocabulary Development and Grammatical Understandings (Register by December 8, 2023)
• January 9, 2024: Teaching Meaning Making—Literal and Inferential Comprehension and Critical Reading, Writing, and Listening (Register by January 5, 2024)
• February 13, 2024: Teaching Effective Expression—Writing, Discussing, Presenting, and Using Language Conventions (Register by February 9, 2024)
• March 12, 2024: Teaching Content Knowledge—Wide Reading, Engaging with Informational Text, and Engaging in Research (Register by March 8, 2024)
• April 9, 2024: Assessing Student Progress and Providing Needed Interventions (Register by April 5, 2024)
• May 14, 2024: Systems for Implementation and the California Literacy Roadmap (Register by May 10, 2024)

All webinars will be streamed live through the California Department of Education’s (CDE’s) Facebook page and on Zoom. To participate in the discussions and breakouts in each webinar, please register via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8MmfMVzUQhyHWMctjtj5Cg#/registration.

Please contact Dr. Bonnie Garcia, Statewide Literacy Co-Director, Statewide Literacy Office, at statewideliteracycampaign@cde.ca.gov with any questions.

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond
State Superintendent of Public Instruction