Letter from the President
Dear Colleague,
This is certainly a remarkable time. When life as we knew it came to a screeching halt last March, who would have imagined the indelible mark that the pandemic would continue to make on our society, our lives and our livelihoods almost a full year later? Yet, we find that this is the case and, as educators, we continue to press on and to work diligently to serve our multilingual learners (MLLs). In many instances, this has meant implementing new, innovative, and dynamic structures to support students’ learning and build new systems. As an organization, NAELPA continues to grow and to evolve in our services for our members and the field. One way that we are striving to do that is by rethinking terminology and integrating more assets-based nomenclature for the students that we serve, which we explain in this newsletter issue.
Through the work of our committees and board, we have continued to support the field by maintaining an ongoing connection with the US Department of Education on issues pertaining to our collective work and have offered high-quality webinars targeted to both district and state staff. These webinars have been anchored around the implementation of practical strategies and the sharing of important updates for the field. We are thrilled to see NAELPA’s membership growing month after month, and we are committed to continuing to provide you with high-quality resources and rich professional learning. And there’s more to come! Did you know that this year NAELPA’s virtual conference is included as part of your membership? We hope that you will join us on April 27th, 2021, and for preceding pre-conference sessions focused on this year’s theme: “Defining the Role of EL Program Administrators in These Changing Times.” Check out this newsletter to learn more about this and many other exciting initiatives and activities underway for NAELPA.
In these times, it is more essential than ever that we strive to make positive changes and implement robust supports for students. I am grateful for your participation in NAELPA, and I encourage you to become more involved in our organization through the work of the committees. Together, we can accomplish even more!
With gratitude,
Megan Alubicki Flick
NAELPA President 2020-2021
NAELPA Newsletter
Spring Edition
March 2021
In this edition:
Page Topic
2 NAELPA new logo
2 NAELPA COVID-19 Response Committee
2 NAELPA Webinars
3 Response to COVID-19 Pandemic: Resources
for Educating English Learners
2 NAELPA's Advisory Board Members
4 NAELPA Statement on "EL" in the Acronym
5 LEA Spotlight: Palm Beach County, FL
6 Executive Director Newsletter Report
7 Member at Large Focus: Pedro J. Ruiz, Ph.D.
8-9 Committee Reports
10 2021 NAELPA Annual National Conference
2021 Virtual
NAELPA Annual National Conference
Defining the Role of
EL Program Administrators in
These Changing Times
April 27, 2021
Free to NAELPA members: Sign up for a NAELPA account at naelpa.org/Membership
Join us for weekly preconference presentations in April leading up
to the conference day!