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Updates from the Oregon Department of Education
1. Chicas Program Expands Impact in Its 16th Year
News and Resources for Multilingual and Migrant Education
1. Invitation: Engagement Session on Instructional Materials
2. McKay Mariachi Teacher Launches Statewide Festival and Builds New Music Program
Upcoming Events, Training & Conference Opportunities
7. Webinar: Upholding the Educational Civil Rights of Multilingual Learners and Families
1. Chicas Program Expands Impact in Its 16th Year
Under the continued leadership of Dr. Olga Acuña, Director of Federal Programs at Hillsboro School District, Chicas Youth Development once again delivered powerful support to HSD students, committing to mentor 20–25 students at each participating school. In its 16th program year, Chicas successfully met all goals and proudly served 401 students, including 89 migratory students and 152 English Language Learners (ELLs).
 Chicas Youth Development Program 2024-25 Final Report
Students participated in 375 bilingual, 90-minute after-school sessions featuring a culturally responsive curriculum centered on leadership development, identity affirmation, academic growth, and social-emotional learning. Beyond the classroom, students expanded their horizons through college tours, community events, leadership experiences, and field trips—creating meaningful opportunities for personal growth, connection, and future planning.
All participants had access to individualized academic and social-emotional support through a dedicated Chicas Advocate and/or Family Engagement Coordinator, ensuring every student received personalized guidance.
Migratory students are often served through coordinated efforts like Chicas.
For more information about the Title I-C Migrant Education Program, please contact Yuliana Kenfield.
2. GK ELPA Screener Performance Standards Updated
The English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) Performance Standards (Summative and Screener) have been updated with ODE’s new, permanent cut scores for the Grade K ELPA Screener. These cut scores replace the preliminary cuts formerly in place for both the former Grade K and Future/Early K ELPA Screeners. Per 2025-26 Future K and Grade K Screener Updates, the permanent Grade K cuts will be used year round, resulting on a single, year-round ELPA Kindergarten Screener.
The 2026-27 Kindergarten Screener will still use the “Future/Early K” title March-July 2026, to avoid confusion with the 2025-26 Grade K Screener. After the system rollover in August, this test’s name will be updated to the “Grade K” Screener, because it will be the only available instrument in kindergarten.
Contact Ben Wolcott, ELPA Specialist, with questions regarding ELPA testing.
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1.Invitation: Engagement Session on Instructional Materials
The Oregon Department of Education is hosting a series of feedback sessions to gather input from educators on how Oregon supports High-Quality Instructional Materials. Your experience and perspective are essential to ensuring the state’s approach to supporting instructional materials reflects the realities and needs of Oregon districts, students, and communities and will help shape recommendations to the State Board of Education in Spring 2026.
We will gather your insights related to:
- Criteria used to determine high-quality instructional materials
- Use of Tier 1 instructional materials to coordinate specialized supports
- Implementation supports
- Oregon’s Instructional Materials adoption schedule
- Engagement Sessions
You are invited you to participate in one of the following sessions:
Your perspective is critical to ensuring Oregon’s High-Quality Instructional Materials Program supports every student, every day having access to meaningful, affirming, grade-level instruction.
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2. McKay Mariachi Teacher Launches Statewide Festival and Builds New Music Program
McKay High School’s new mariachi teacher, Cindy Flores, is expanding a fast‑growing program serving more than 100 beginner students across three schools. This February, she will host a statewide mariachi festival featuring school ensembles from across Oregon, creating new performance and learning opportunities for students. Read the full story here.
1. EAC Seeks Input to Inform New Educator Advancement Roadmap — Survey Closes February 20, 2026
The Educator Advancement Council is developing an Educator Advancement Roadmap to guide future efforts, align priorities, and support meaningful progress across the system. The Roadmap will rearticulate the EAC mission and vision, establish clear goals and metrics to inform resource allocation, and support cross-agency collaboration to amplify collective support for Oregon educators.
In addition to hearing from educators through the Regional Educator Networks and EVE Workforce Survey, the Council is collecting input from representatives of Oregon organizations whose work supports educator recruitment, development, and retention to learn more about how the EAC can systematically support efforts. This feedback will play a critical role in shaping the direction of the roadmap, helping us identify key opportunities, challenges, and strategies for advancing educators at all stages of their careers.
If your organization is interested in participating in the survey, you can do so using this link. The survey is open until February 20, 2026
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2. MENTE Student Scholarship — Application Closes February 27, 2026
The purpose of the Mente Scholarship is to encourage and provide Latine males the opportunity to further their academic and technical potential as they prepare to become future leaders. Selected scholarship recipients will be awarded a one-time $1,000 scholarship for higher education. Mente will award high school seniors and/or current college students who plan to continue furthering their education. Click here to submit a scholarship application.
Students who are interested in learning about the framework for writing a winning scholarship essay are invited to join a FREE online workshop on February 19 from 6:00 – 7:00 PM hosted by Mente President and Path to Scholarships co-author Gerardo Ochoa, Ed.M. Register on this Zoom sign-up page
3. Exploring Humanizing Pedagogies for Multilingual Learners and Their Teachers, March 4, 2026
The Center for Applied Linguistics and The BUENO Center for Multicultural Education are partnering to host this webinar on the importance of humanizing pedagogies for multilingual learners and their teachers. Presenters will share insights from their new book, Humanizing Pedagogies with Multilingual Learners: Transforming Teaching in the Content Areas, written for PK–12 practitioners. The session will introduce a research‑grounded framework that centers relational, meaningful, and student‑affirming teaching practices and will offer guidance on how the book can support professional learning across schools, districts, and university settings. Click here to register for this event.
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4. 2026 MEP Youth Institutes, March 7 & 14
Application materials for the 2026 Al Wright Memorial Migrant Scholarship are now available. The scholarship is open to graduating seniors eligible for Title I, Part C who plan to pursue post‑secondary education, with priority for students who have faced barriers due to mobility.
Deadline: Applications must be received (not postmarked) at the Washington, DC address listed in the materials by March 11, 2026.
Scholarship recipients will be recognized at the 2026 Title I, Part C Convocation in April. Click here to learn scholarship guidelines.
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5. Language Supports for Equity Engaging Multilingual Learners in Grades K-5
This series provides practical strategies to support multilingual learners and create linguistically responsive, equitable classrooms. Each session offers approaches to strengthen language development, literacy, and student engagement within any classroom, including dual language programs. Sessions will begin at 4:15 - 5:15 PM via Zoom (no breakout rooms).
- Audience: All K-5 educators across Oregon
- PDU certificates available
- Sessions will be recorded and sent to all who register
Event Dates:
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March 12: Foundational Skills for Multilingual Learners: Explore strategies to develop essential literacy skills while addressing students' diverse linguistic needs.
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April 9: Bridging and Translanguaging: Discover ways to support content learning, academic vocabulary, and classroom participation. Learn how to intentionally bridge students' home languages using translanguaging strategies.
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April 30: Communication for Learning: Creating Equitable Access for Multilingual Learners: Gain practical classroom-ready strategies to scaffold sentence structures, student talk protocols, and communication skills across content areas.
Registration
- Registration fees will fund literacy grants offered by the Portland Reading Council a nonprofit supporting literacy educators. Cost will be $10 per session or $25 for all three.
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Click here to register. Payment is by debit/credit card or PayPal. When prompted, enter your email to go to the payment screen and to receive a receipt.
All are welcome! Please feel free to share this invitation and PDF Flyer with your peers.
6. Annual MENTE Summit Registration is Now Open, April 3, 2026
Portland State University is hosting the 9th Annual Mente Summit on April 3, 2026. The MENTE Summit is a one-of-a-kind conference that brings together professionals, college, and high school Latinx men to address inequities and barriers facing Latino males. Participants will connect with community leaders and network to build momentum to encourage and support more Latinos to pursue their career.
Student Registration:
Student registration will be limited to students who are juniors and seniors, totaling participation to no more than 12 students per school. Conference size is limited to 250 participants.
Exhibitor Registration:
The mission of the Mente Summit is to provide empowerment and networking opportunities for Latine students to prepare for the future. Mente Summit is the largest gender and culture-specific conference serving Latine men in the Northwest. All proceeds from the conference registration go directly to the scholarship fund to support students enrolled in Oregon colleges in the fall of 2026. Exhibitors are invited but not required to send representatives who self-identify as Latine and who are bilingual. Click here for exhibitor registration.
Workshop Proposals:
The Mente Summit organizing committee is seeking workshop presenters. Presenters will be expected to be role models and offer practical and experiential sessions to help young Latino men increase their understanding, knowledge, and skills. Click here to submit a workshop proposals.
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Center For Applied Linguistics (CAL) is offering a Webinar on Upholding the Educational Civil Rights of Multilingual Learners and Families. Taking place on March 10, 2026 at 1pm PT.
In this webinar, policy experts and practitioners will unpack the educational civil rights that protect multilingual learners and their families, clarifying what these rights mean in practice and how they are grounded in existing law and guidance. Participants will also hear directly from a state-level leader about how these civil rights frameworks are being implemented on the ground, highlighting policy levers, practical strategies, and lessons learned that can inform efforts in other contexts.
8. Webinar: A National Conversation on Title 1 Part C Branding and Marketing Resources Available and Needed
On Feb 24, 2026 at 8am PT Identification & Recruitment Consortium (IDRC) is hosting a National Hey Conversation on Title 1 Part C Branding and Marketing Resources Available and Needed.
It will be a discussion between all states on how programs are branding and naming the program and how they can share the same message across the country as families move from one place to another. IDRC will also share new resources available to help states share with families and youth more about the program.
Identification & Recruitment Consortium (IDRC) will be holding their Virtual Data Submit on March 12, 2026. This is a great opportunity to learn about using data for program improvement and implementation. Access the agenda here for more information.
10. Webinar: Seed • Harvest • Weave – Facilitating Collective Leadership
Join Facilitating Power for an interactive session designed to strengthen collective leadership practices across schools, organizations, and community spaces. This webinar explores how to build relational culture, share power, and design participatory processes that move groups toward meaningful action.
Facilitated by:
The team at Facilitating Power, nationally recognized for their work in community‑rooted facilitation, equity-centered leadership development, and movement‑building strategies
Register and learn more
If you have content or stories you’d like featured in our newsletter, we want to hear from you! Whether it’s an article, event, or an inspiring story, your contributions add depth to our discussions. Please send your submissions and ideas to Marisol Rodriguez, Administrative Specialist, and you may see your content in an upcoming publication.
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For questions or assistance, the Multilingual and Migrant (MME) team is available to support you. Please contact us via email for further information.
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Hector Aguirre, Migrant Education Title IC Specialist
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Diego Contreras-Medrano, Migrant Education Research Analyst
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Jennifer Fontana, Multilingual Education Specialist
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Kelly Kalkofen, English Learner Outcomes Program Education Specialist
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Yuliana Kenfield, Migrant Education Title IC Specialist
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Mary Martinez-Wenzl, Director of Multilingual & Migrant Education Team
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Estephany Membreño, Administrative Specialist II
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Kim Miller, Title III Education Specialist
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Myrna Muñoz, English Learner Outcomes Program Education Specialist
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Reza Norouzian, Multilingual Education Research Analyst
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Natalia Piar, Multilingual & Migrant Education Team Coordinator
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Marisol Rodriguez, Administrative Specialist II
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You were added to this newsletter if you are part of the Migrant Education Program and/or the Title III English Learner listserv. Migrant Ed and Title III leaders, staff, and interested members of the public may subscribe to this newsletter through ODE's QuickSubscribe portal at any time. We thank you for serving Oregon's multilingual and migrant students.
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