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The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

LAUSD

LAUSD Superintendent Gives Keynote at Credential Celebration

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Superintendent Carvalho speaking at podium
LAUSD Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho.

“America is only as great as its educational system.”

That was Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho’s message for the aspiring teachers gathered at the College of Education’s 2022-23 Credential Celebration on May 22. Carvalho was the keynote speaker for the event, which celebrated the nearly 300 teacher-students who completed a CSUDH credential program this year.

Before introducing Carvalho to the audience of Toros and their family and friends, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Spagna spoke about the mission of the College of Education (COE) and the central role teachers play in shaping society. 

“We are creating ‘nation builders,’” he said, referencing the term used for teachers in the Republic of Korea. “We are one of the top producers of talent for LAUSD, the second biggest school district in the U.S.”

“Until we pay attention to the larger ecosystem and work with our intersegmental partners to really bolster L.A. Unified, we won’t truly reach equity and get to a social justice agenda—which is what our university is about.”

COE Associate Dean Corinne Martinez, Dean Jessica Zacher Pandya, LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, and CSUDH Provost Michael Spagna
Left to right: COE Associate Dean Corinne Martinez, Dean Jessica Zacher Pandya, LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, and CSUDH Provost Michael Spagna.

In her welcoming remarks, College of Education Dean Jessica Zacher Pandya also referenced the College’s vision—which includes principles of justice, equity, and critical consciousness, as well as the goal of preparing critical educators to co-create and enact transformative change.

“You are those critical educators, and we are here to celebrate you,” Pandya said.

Carvalho then took to the podium to offer his congratulations, discuss the impact education had on his own life trajectory, and expand upon the idea of teachers as “nation builders.”

“We are a nation at a point of inflection,” Carvalho said. “If there’s one place in America where we have a chance of actually growing, it is in our classrooms. Public education and democracy are two sides of the same coin.

“I am looking not only at nation builders, but the architects of hope and the engineers of opportunity—for teachers are exactly that,” he added.

Carvalho went on to explain that he came from humble beginnings, and that his parents never had the opportunity to attend school past the third grade. Carvalho’s fourth grade teacher took him under her wing, affirming him and giving him the confidence he needed to succeed in school. He implored the teachers present to truly invest in their students and form real, emotional connections with them.

COE Associate Dean Corinne Martinez congratulating Zulema Pettway
COE Associate Dean Corinne Martinez congratulating Zulema Pettway.

“You will not touch the child’s mind without first touching their heart,” he said. “You will create meaningful, magical moments with kids, and take them to places they never dreamed they could reach.

“That was my journey.”

Following Carvalho’s speech, credential program graduates had their names called as they walked the stage. For Zulema Pettway, earning her special education credential marked a great personal achievement.   

“It was a hard road to get here, but worth it,” she said. “I want to be a light for my students and give them the opportunities they deserve.”

View more photos from the Credential Celebration on SmugMug.

Univision: LAUSD Needs Credentialed Teachers, and a Program Can Help Those Interested

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Still from Univision footage of COE ceremony Text: Buscan contratar más maestros para trabajar en el LAUSD

Source: Univision 34 (video, Spanish)

In his commencement address at California State University, Dominguez Hills, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent Alberto Carvalho stressed that there is a great need for credentialed teachers. “I am here recruiting the talent that we need in our schools,” said Carvalho. There is an aid program for those who are interested in becoming certified educators, and this is what they should know.

College of Education Awarded $2.57 Million Grant

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Photo of the College of Education and students on campus

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the College of Education a five-year, $2.571 million grant in support of Project MEDALLA (Multilingual Educator Development Advancing Language Learning Achievement/Activism), which aims to create a network of certified bilingual educators in the greater Los Angeles area. 

Until the 2016 passing of the Multilingual Education Act in California, English immersion classes had been required for English learners in the state. Now, by law, schools must provide dual language programs if requested by enough parents. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has implemented more than 200 of these programs since 2016, but demand continues to outpace the number of credentialed teachers. 

Project MEDALLA will help meet this demand by launching revised pathways in CSUDH’s College of Education leading to Bilingual Authorization in Spanish for both in-service and pre-service teachers. It will also provide professional development focused on early biliteracy teaching methods and practices for multilingual learners and asset-based multilingual family engagement. 

“What we’re doing is advocating and providing agency for language preservation and language development,” says Professor and Chair of Teacher Education and Project Co-Principal Investigator Pablo Ramírez. “It’s exciting to be co-creating space with and for multilingual parents, community members, and teachers.”  

The College of Education has offered bilingual education training and certification for years, but previously did not have the resources or human capital to expand these programs. Associate Professor of Liberal Studies and Project Co-Principal Investigator Jen Stacy says the grant will enable the Project MEDALLA team to build on the college’s existing partnerships with schools, create more offerings for teachers, document best practices, and widely share their research findings. 

“When people hear about what we do, they get really excited because we are one of the only places to offer both teacher education coursework and professional development in Spanish,” Stacy says. “We want to disseminate information not just to our local community, but to the national and international community to share how we center a critical and culturally sustaining framework, and how exactly we are better preparing teachers.” 

By contributing to the scholarship around multilingual education, sharing best practices, and equipping teachers with the skills they need, the Project MEDALLA team intends to continue promoting the myriad advantages of dual language learning. The positive effects extend far beyond classroom walls, Ramírez says. 

“These programs have academic and social benefits for students, as well as for broader communities,” he says. “Research shows that students who engage in multilingual programs are critically aware of multicultural education, multicultural issues, issues around language and equity, and issues around community belongingness.” 

“Our mission is to prepare our students to be part of this pluralistic society.” 

The Project MEDALLA team consists of Ramírez and Stacy, along with Associate Professor of Teacher Education Elexia Reyes McGovern, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education Nallely Arteaga, and Associate Professor of School Leadership Yesenia Fernández.  

The grant was administered through the Department of Education’s National Professional Development Program, which provides grants to implement professional development activities intended to improve instruction for English Learners and assist education personnel.