Families, educators share strategies to support emergent bilingual students

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Families, educators, and community groups gathered on Thursday, May 14, at Austin Community College’s Highland Business Center to learn about and share best practices for supporting emergent bilingual students in Central Texas.  

According to the Texas Education Agency, one in four students in the region is emergent bilingual.  

Despite numerous benefits associated with being bilingual, E3 Alliance data found emergent bilingual students in Central Texas graduate high school at lower rates than their non-emergent bilingual peers and are overrepresented in longitudinal dropout rates. Less than a quarter of emergent bilingual students in the region immediately enrolled in a postsecondary program after graduating high school in 2022.  

About the Emergent Bilingual Steering Committee

E3 Alliance launched the Emergent Bilingual Steering Committee in 2022 in partnership with local school districts, colleges, and community groups to improve academic outcomes for this growing student population. 

The committee aims to increase the percentage of emergent bilingual students pursuing postsecondary education, including certificates and college degrees. 

The group developed a vision statement to guide their work: 

“We will know our emergent bilingual students are successful when students and families feel valued and empowered to self-advocate, participate and perform in advanced classes, and graduate college and career-ready at equivalent rates as their monolingual peers.”

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The event highlighted the committee’s focus on family engagement and included Spanish translation services. Parents of emergent bilingual students shared their children’s experiences, such as the challenging transition from elementary to middle school, the need for more bilingual educators, and the desire for more opportunities to develop and strengthen biliteracy skills.  

Educators on the committee discussed how their districts are helping families better navigate the educational system and expand emergent bilingual students’ access to advanced courses.   

Monica Saldivar, Lockhart ISD’s director of bilingual education, shared how her district has strengthened systems to support emergent bilingual students. Forty percent of Lockhart ISD’s student population is considered emergent bilingual.  

Saldivar said they implemented a districtwide compliance and support system and launched a recognition system for educators known as “Linguistic Lockstars.” The district also held an event last May to help families navigate the transition from fifth grade to sixth grade. Saldivar said the district now plans to offer a similar event for students moving from eighth to ninth grade.  

As a result of these efforts, Saldivar said families are more engaged during critical academic transition points, and educators now provide more consistent instructional support to emergent bilingual students. She added that Lockhart ISD continues to build a culture that values and celebrates multilingualism.  

E3 Alliance’s Director of Systems Alignment Heather Salaz reflected on the significance of the work led by the Emergent Bilingual Steering Committee.  

“This effort represents the collective impact of school districts, community partners, and families working together to strengthen outcomes for emergent bilingual students,” she said.  “We were especially grateful to highlight district leadership, the power of community partnerships, and the growing momentum to expand access, engagement, and opportunity for students.”

To learn more

To learn more about the work of the Emergent Bilingual Steering Committee, read the executive summary highlighting key findings from over three years of qualitative and quantitative research. E3 Alliance will release the full report later this summer.  

To support E3 Alliance’s ongoing work for all Central Texas students, consider joining the Community Partners Network or Parent Leadership Council.