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Language. Joy. Opportunity.
Across California, SEAL helps teachers create classrooms where language sparks connection, everyone is engaged, and all students thrive. Together, we’re building a future filled with promise, pride, and possibility.
A Letter from SEAL’s Executive Director, Dr. Anya Hurwitz
This year reminded me, once again, why SEAL exists - and why our work matters now more than ever. Across California, I witnessed classrooms where language opened doors: children building English proficiency while celebrating their home languages, teachers rediscovering joy in their practice, and families stepping in as true partners in their children’s learning.
Following last year’s milestone celebration of SEAL’s five years as an independent nonprofit, our impact continued to deepen. About 800 educators reached 12,000 students this year through SEAL’s research-based, asset-driven approach. Teachers saw students become more engaged, more confident, and more joyful in their learning. They saw families connecting more deeply with schools, and fewer children becoming long-term English learners — evidence of what happens when we invest in students’ strengths and ensure their potential is fully seen and nurtured.
Our influence also grew beyond classrooms. Across the state, SEAL helped bring the English Learner Roadmap and ELA/ELD Framework to life - not as policy documents, but as daily practice that centers language, belonging, and opportunity. We also stood alongside policymakers and national leaders - visiting classrooms, sharing stories, and ensuring that legislation reflects the needs and brilliance of California’s diverse children. In every conversation, the same message echoed: when we invest in language-rich, joyful, and culturally responsive learning, we invest in California’s future.
Even in times of challenge, I remain deeply hopeful. Every day, I see what’s possible when we build together. Thank you for believing in this movement, championing our vision, and walking alongside us.
The future is multilingual — and together, we echo it into being.
We’re proud to build it with you.
Educator Story
When One Question Changes Everything
In a Transitional Kindergarten classroom, a group of students were learning about ocean animals — their habitats, diets, and unique characteristics. During circle time, the teacher asked the children to share the names of sea creatures they knew. One little boy stayed quiet, his eyes focused on the floor.
Sensing hesitation, the teacher gently repeated the question — this time in Spanish. The boy’s hand shot up. Suddenly, the room filled with his voice as he confidently named one animal after another — el tiburón, la ballena, la tortuga — even describing their behaviors and traits in detail. His knowledge was vast, his language precise, his joy unmistakable.
Had the teacher not made space for his home language, that brilliance might have gone unnoticed. Instead, it was celebrated — and it changed how everyone in the room learned together.In the days that followed, the teacher invited all students, including English-only speakers, to learn some of the animal names in Spanish. What began as a science lesson became something deeper — a lesson in belonging, curiosity, and respect for linguistic diversity.
“When children are given the chance to express themselves in both languages, we don’t just hear more words — we see more of who they are.”
Moments like this reflect the heart of SEAL’s work: helping educators uncover every child’s potential by making language the bridge to learning — where every voice is valued, and every child’s brilliance has the space to shine.
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Our Reach. Our Ripple.
Across California, SEAL reaches more classrooms, educators, and students every year. Each number tells a story of transformation — of teachers empowered, families connected, and students learning with confidence and joy. Our 2024–25 reach shows how language, joy, and opportunity continue to grow as SEAL’s model expands statewide.
Preschool LEAs, District and County Offices
Preschool & Elementary Sites
Educators Trained (approximate)
Students Served
Preschool LEAs, District and County Offices
Preschool & Elementary Sites
Educators Trained
Students Served
Our Impact In Action: From Classrooms to Communities
Across California, SEAL’s work is transforming teaching, learning, and engagement for multilingual learners — from classrooms filled with conversation to families connected through language and joy. Findings from our 2024–25 End of Year Teacher Survey highlight how SEAL’s approach builds English proficiency while celebrating students’ home languages, strengthens family partnerships, and reduces the number of long-term English learners. Together, these results show how language, joy, and opportunity come together to create lasting change.
Empowering Educators.
Elevating Every Learner.
Across California, SEAL educators are transforming classrooms into places where language bridges school and family, builds confidence and joy, and opens doors to a brighter future. When schools see language as an asset, something extraordinary happens — educators feel inspired, families become partners, and every student thrives.
The impact is clear — when educators are empowered to teach through language, classrooms come alive, and the results speak for themselves
Feel more confident supporting dual language and English learners.
Say SEAL training better prepared them to serve multilingual learners
Report regularly implementing SEAL strategies in their classrooms.
Say their curriculum now reflects students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Language in Bloom. Learning in Motion.
Across SEAL classrooms—whether English-only or dual language immersion—students are building English proficiency while celebrating their home languages. As teachers bring language-rich learning to life, students are growing in confidence, academic skill, and pride in who they are and how they communicate. The results show the power of honoring all languages in learning.
Teachers see students leaning in, collaborating, and taking ownership of their learning through SEAL’s interactive, language-rich lessons.
Educators see students proudly expressing their learning in their home languages — deepening understanding and building bridges between cultures.
Students show greater clarity, complexity, and creativity in their writing — crafting ideas with purpose and precision in English and beyond.
Joy in Learning. Connection in Action.
In SEAL classrooms, learning feels alive. Students lean in, families join in, and teachers create moments that spark curiosity, laughter, and confidence. Across English-only and dual language settings, SEAL strategies are helping build classrooms where engagement and joy drive academic growth. The results show what happens when language-rich teaching connects hearts and minds.
Teachers see students leaning in, collaborating, and taking ownership of their learning through SEAL’s interactive, language-rich lessons.
Classrooms feel brighter and more confident — students speaking, questioning, and celebrating what they know in both English and their home language.
SEAL strategies help parents connect meaningfully to classroom learning — turning school and home into shared spaces of language and love.
The Echo Expands Across California
Every partnership adds to the growing chorus of educators, families, and students building a multilingual future.
When Classrooms Inspire Policy — and Possibility
When Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi stepped into a SEAL classroom in Azusa Unified, he didn’t just see a lesson — he saw a vision for California’s future. Students weren’t passively listening. They were leading. Voices filled the room as children discussed ideas, explained their thinking, and built on each other’s language — in English and in their home languages.In SEAL classrooms, students speak more than the teacher. Every child is engaged, regardless of their level of English proficiency.. Children are excited to take part in lessons, eager to share what they know, and confident navigating complex academic language. This is SEAL’s approach in action: learning that is joyful, intellectually rich, and rooted in language.That day, Assemblymember Muratsuchi witnessed what our educators create every day — classrooms where literacy is not a worksheet or an isolated skill, but a dynamic process that integrates language development, content knowledge, foundational skills, and meaning making. He saw firsthand how home languages deepen understanding, expand expression, and unlock students’ academic potential.This powerful visit helped shape the vision behind Assembly Bill 1454, introduced by Speaker Robert Rivas — a landmark bill designed to strengthen literacy instruction statewide. SEAL proudly joined partners including Californians Together, CABE, CTA, CSBA, ACSA, CSLA, and LMU-CEEL to support this bill, recognizing it as a major step toward literacy systems that reflect the needs and assets of multilingual learners.This year’s policy momentum is proof of what happens when strong classroom practice meets strong advocacy. When we share what’s possible in SEAL classrooms, we help shape policies that honor students’ brilliance and propel their futures forward.
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With Gratitude to Our Partners
We sincerely thank our long-standing supporters and partners who continue to help us transform multilingual education in California and beyond.
For many of you, your dedication to this work is rooted in your own multilingual and multicultural experiences, which have shaped your lives in meaningful ways. Today, your commitment empowers all learners to have access to culturally and linguistically affirming education, helping them thrive in and out of school.