The Voice for MLs
The National Association of English Learner Program Administrators (NAELPA) serves as the voice of multilingual learners (MLs), representing State Education Agencies (SEAs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) across the United States. We are small enough to hear individual voices, yet powerful enough to be heard as a whole. The organization provides its members with direct contact to the change agents in each state and at the Federal level. With two-way communication between the council and the decision makers, our voice can be heard. Join today and be part of the voice!
Dr. Megan Alubicki Flick, NAELPA President 2024-25
President's Message
As I begin my presidential term, I am thinking both about the importance of NAELPA as an organization and the critical role that our field plays in the schools and districts of our country. As the past president, Dr. Nicole Leach noted in the Winter 2024 newsletter, that this year signals an important milestone for our field-the 50th anniversary of Lau v. Nichols, the landmark case that put in place requirements to serve multilingual learners (MLs) by providing language support. Since then, we have seen many changes in education pedagogy and priorities and in how MLs are supported in schools, and it is incumbent upon us to advocate for and provide the languages services and access to general education content to which our students are entitled.
But this work can be hard! In my 20+ years of work in this field, I have felt inspired, hopeful, passionate, and motivated, but at times I have also felt challenged: by longstanding barriers, equity issues, and access to resources for our students and their families. Despite the commitment and passion that we all have for MLs and for this field, the work can feel difficult at times, and that is one of the reasons that being engaged with NAELPA has been such a rich and beneficial experience in my professional life. Through NAELPA, we have the opportunity to come together to engage in projects, activities, learning opportunities, and networking with colleagues around the country. Through the NAELPA community, I have learned so much and have engaged with an incredibly professional and committed community. This has, in turn, made me a better educator, advocate, and leader.
As we enter the new NAELPA board year, I encourage you to consider how to become more involved in NAELPA, too. There are so many ways to engage with this organization! Consider attending events, like the webinars, coffee chats or annual conference, or join us on a committee where lots of the NAELPA work happens. Or maybe all of the above! NAELPA becomes stronger as an organization the more its members are engaged and participate, and we all benefit from a diverse range of voices at the table. I hope to see you at one of our committee meetings and events! Thank you for all you do, and wishing you a wonderful school year to come!
NAELPA Statement on Support for Assets-Based Terminology
It is important to NAELPA to use asset-based terminology when referring to our work and the population of students we serve. We acknowledge that the current name of this organization, The National Association of English Learner Program Administrators (NAELPA), uses English Learner (EL), which is considered deficit based. With current federal legislation using English Learners (ELs) to identify this population the NAELPA board will continue with this usage for clarity purposes in the short term. The term NAELPA prefers is Multilingual Learner (ML), which the organization views as a more asset-based term. NAELPA will take an active role in advocating for the wider use of assets-based nomenclature and helping to make it more standardized in our field and beyond.
For a more detailed description, check out the full NAELPA Asset-Based Terminology statement.