Presentation: Education Equity Forum 2026

SEAL will present with partners Californians Together, EdTrust-West, Early Edge California and Catalyst California at the Education Equity Forum 2026, hosted by EdTrust-West.

Presentation

Strengthening Transitional Kindergarten for Multilingual Learners

California has the highest percentage of Multilingual Learners (MLs) in the nation, with nearly 60% of children under age five speaking a language other than English at home. As California enters the first year of fully expanded Transitional Kindergarten (TK), this moment presents a critical opportunity to intentionally support MLs and their families. This session will highlight practical tools and strategies to prepare and support bilingual TK educators to meet the diverse linguistic and development needs of their students. Participants will explore promising practices from across the state, strategies, and tools for expanding bilingual pathways, and recent efforts to ensure TK is grounded in developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically responsive practices for Multilingual Learners.

Presenters: 

Patricia Chavez
Head of External Relations & Development, Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL)

Mario Snow
Senior Policy Associate, Early Childhood Education, Californians Together

Pamela Low
Policy Analyst - TK-12, EdTrust-West

Eduardo Gutierrez
Policy Analyst, Early Edge California

JunHee Doh
Associate Director of Birth to Third Grade Policy, Catalyst California

About the Event

This year's Ed Equity Forum will bring inspiring main stage sessions, an increased focus on actionable resources, more networking opportunities, and a chance to celebrate EdTrust-West's 25th anniversary. Breakout sessions will be geared toward advocacy strategy, capacity-building, technical assistance, policy implementation, and more, with tools to take back to your community, campus, or school. We can't wait to connect, learn, and celebrate with you.