The California Department of Education held a celebration to recognize the three years of leadership that COE faculty member Dr. Karen Cadiero-Kaplan provided to the State on behalf of the 1.4 million English Learners in California.
In a state as diverse as California, English Learner education is an invaluable skill for today’s educators. More and more students each year who speak an alternate language at home arrive in California schools underprepared to learn in the same environment as native English speakers. Dr. Cadiero-Kaplan’s work helped to bring English Learners the proper support they required to succeed in school.
Dr. Cadiero-Kaplan was appointed to establish the English Learner Support Division at the Department of Education in January of 2012 as a Visiting Educator from San Diego State University. In this capacity she served as the director for both Federal and State English Learner programs and policy.
Dr. Cadiero-Kaplan directed the efforts to establish the English Language Development (ELD) Standards aligned to Common Core for English Language Arts for CA, adopted by the State Board of Education in November of 2012. The ELD standards established a model for other states to follow as well.
Dr. Cadiero-Kaplan was the first director to oversee the implementation of a key policy initiative that had national impact, the State Seal of Biliteracy, an award given to students graduating California high schools with literacy for A-G courses in English and an additional language. This California policy was the first in the nation, prompting other states to follow suit.
In addition, Cadiero-Kaplan led efforts to overhaul the California Migrant Education Program, serving children and youth of migrant workers across the state. She worked directly in developing regulations for the State Parent Advisory Council and worked with leaders across the state to establish key policies to ensure that the funds California receives for this program go directly to student services.
Cadiero-Kaplan returned to SDSU in January as the Interim Chair of the Department of Dual Language & English Learner Education and also serves as faculty in the Joint SDSU/Claremont Graduate University Doctoral Program. Dr. Cadiero-Kaplan looks forward to returning to her faculty role and will be presenting a lecture at SDSU in the Spring on the Role of Policy in Education: Implications for Teaching, Research and Advocacy.