What's Language Got To Do With It?
A Forum the role of multilingualism in creating successful citizens of the world
The East Side Education Foundation invite you to an important community forum examining the role of multilingualism in equipping our students as successful citizens of the world, able to communicate across languages and cultures and navigate an increasingly complex global environment. Without those capacities, California’s students will be left behind.
At this forum, you will hear about the power of multilingualism for all students, language friendly schools, and the State Board of Education’s new portrait of a graduate, which calls out Multilingual/Multicultural Learner as one of its seven key elements. You’ll learn from practitioners at school, district, and community levels who have implemented successful elementary and secondary multilingual programs.
Date: October 13, 2026
Location: Sobrato Center for Nonprofits, Cupertino Rooms, 1400 Parkmoor Avenue
Time: 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Speakers Include:
- Dr. Alma Flor Ada, Best-Selling Children’s Author, Professor Emerita, University of San Francisco
- Francisca Sánchez, President & CEO, META & Provocative Practice, Vice-President, ESEF
- Aldo Ramírez, Executive Director, VOICES Dual Language Academies, Board Member, ESEF
- María Rocha, Director/Principal, Riverbank Dual Language Academy
- Naím Sánchez Juárez
- Diana Aguilar
- Liliana Sánchez
- Students
We hope you will join us for this critical conversation about the role of language/multilingualism in healthy identity, social, cognitive, and academic student success and the current/new policies and initiatives supporting multilingualism.
*If you are bringing a guest, put the No. of guests to 1. If you are attending by yourself, keep it at 0.