English Learner Workforce Investment Initiative (EL-WIN)
EL-WIN provides philanthropic resources to California County Offices of Education (COEs) – especially those that serve small and rural communities in the Central Valley and LA County–to work in partnership to build pipelines of the very best UPK educators that serve multilingual learners.
EL-WIN’s flexible resources are designed to support local partnerships in ways that strategically augment state UPK and workforce funding, explicitly center multilingual learners, and strengthen the bridges between the Pre-K and TK-12 systems that make up early childhood’s mixed delivery system.
EL-WIN supports two regions: Los Angeles and the Central Valley. Read below for more information on each region!
EL-WIN Central Valley:
In the Central Valley, EL-WIN supports five county offices of education—Fresno, Kern, Merced, Stanislaus, and Tulare—to work at two levels. First, each county office leads a partnership that brings together higher education institutions, Pre-K programs, school districts, and other stakeholders to strengthen the UPK educator pipeline in ways that lift the assets and meet the needs of young multilingual learners. Second, these counties participate in a Central Valley community of practice where they share resources, collaborate, and advance shared priorities.
Partners:
County Office of Education participating in the EL-WIN Central Valley Network include Kern, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Fresno
UC Merced Extension School - Serves as organizational home for the EL-WIN Central Valley Director.
Ci4Ci - Provides data technical assistance to COE partners, including developing an annual data book on Central Valley UPK workforce needs and assets.
Change Consulting - Develops common Central Valley UPK educator recruitment messages and materials
Californians Together - Develops policy recommendations to support UPK pipelines that center young multilingual learners in the Central Valley, LA County, and beyond
For more information about EL-WIN Central Valley, please contact Lisa Towne at ca.elwin.info@gmail.com
EL-WIN Los Angeles:
In Los Angeles, EL-WIN is supported by TNTP, the Greater Los Angeles Education Fund (GLAEF), and two departments at the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE): the Head Start and Early Learning Division and the Multilingual Academic Support (MAS) Unit.
EL-WIN LA is launching a pilot with two anchor districts in LA County to develop and enhance pathways into the workforce for early childhood educators in ways that lift the assets and meet the needs of their young multilingual learners. Anchor districts lead regional partnerships with neighboring school districts, Pre-K programs, colleges and universities to set workforce development goals aligned to their local needs. Participants receive technical assistance and coaching from TNTP, and participate in a community of practice, also facilitated by TNTP. Through these pilot talent pathways, we will learn how regional partners can work collectively and sustain the pathways over time.
Partners:
TNTP - Provides coordination, coaching and technical assistance for regional hubs
Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation - Philanthropic partner of LACOE and the 80 school districts served throughout the county
For more information about EL-WIN Los Angeles, contact Erin Ashley at erin.ashley@tntp.org
EL-WIN State Policy (Californian’s Together)
Multilingual-Ready Universal Pre-K Workforce Policy
EL-WIN has cultivated a strong network across the Central Valley and Los Angeles County, with a focus on building Universal Pre-K (UPK) educator pipelines for multilingual-ready educators. Californians Together is proud to collaborate with EL-WIN in the important work of developing, strengthening, and sustaining impactful regional and state policies related to early childhood education workforce development.
Californians Together organizes and facilitates regional and state policy convenings, gathers thoughtful input from county and regional leaders, and conducts ongoing landscape and data analyses to design policy recommendations for state and regional decision makers. Californians Together aims to ensure that the needs and experiences of stakeholders are thoughtfully translated into actionable, long-term state policy recommendations, drawing on the promising practices in the Central Valley. The forthcoming EL-WIN State Policy Recommendations, which aim to ensure a multilingual-prepared UPK workforce, will be disseminated statewide by Californians Together in the late spring through summer of 2025.
To learn more about this work, contact erin@caltog.org