Historically, CTE programs have been instrumental in preparing students for the workforce by providing them with practical skills and hands-on experience. These programs offer a powerful medium to bring together various funding initiatives and frameworks within California’s community colleges. These programs, with their focus on practical, skills-based education, are uniquely positioned to address the dual needs of workforce development and student achievement.

As we celebrate National Student Parent Month and settle into the start of a new academic year for student parents and their children, it is important to remember that championing student parent success is not just about helping a specific group of students succeed — it’s about investing in the future of California and the future of our youngest learners, more than 500,000+ of which have a parent in school. Research consistently shows that when student parents earn a degree, their children directly benefit.

The state of California has the largest EL student population in the nation at 19.1%. Multilingual learners are often subject to a deficit orientation in schools that focuses on what they are assumed to lack rather than the assets that they bring from their multiple languages and cultures. The term English Learner itself assumes that racialized multilingual learners are lacking in their ability to speak and understand English. Current and future multilingual learners face many challenges posed by a slew of structural imbalances as well as this deficit framing — such as economic hardship, segregation, interrupted schooling, under-resourced schools, lack of ESL/bilingual certified teachers and low expectations.