LeighAnn Matthews, NJTESOL/NJBE, New Jersey, USA

(Thank you to our historian, Barbara Tedesco, for sharing some of this information in a recent interview for our newsletter, Voices)

NJTESOL/NJBE had its first official meeting on October 18, 1969. After a push for bilingual education from the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), the organization was initially formed to address the impending needs of bilingual and ESL teachers. At the time, there were many questions about what exactly the organization would look like. However, practicality was quickly deemed important as ESL/bilingual was a relatively new teaching field. New Jersey became the third state to form as an affiliate of TESOL, Inc. The first official conference was in 1971. It was just one day at The College of Saint Elizabeth and was only $2.00 to register (wow!). On August 9,1974, we became an affiliate of the National Association of Bilingual Educators (NABE) as well.

Advocacy has always been an important component of NJTESOL/NJBE and the need has only grown over the years. It is critical to be aware of statewide and national issues that impact English language learners and their families. Many of our members contact state senators and representatives to share their opinions and advocate. In addition, our executive board frequently creates position papers on “hot topics” that affect English language learners and bilingual students in New Jersey. The goal is for these papers to be disseminated and our expertise is often sought out by the New Jersey Department of Education Bureau of Bilingual/ESL Education. The first NJTESOL/NJBE position paper was written about oral language proficiency. Our recent position papers are posted on our website. Topics include language rights and protecting the rights of English language learners.

On January 19, 2016, New Jersey became the 15^th state to adopt The Seal of Biliteracy; which was established to recognize high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, listening and writing in one or more world languages in addition to English (NJDOE). NJTESOL/NJBE, with guidance from our socio-political representative, Elizabeth “BJ” Franks, played an integral part in bringing the seal to New Jersey. The Seal of Biliteracy opens doors for English language learners and bilingual students as they graduate from high school and begin a career or continue their education. It also promotes bilingualism and encourages students to continue using their native language at home and school.

Today our organization has between 1400-1500 members. However, it is important to note that this number is not reflective of the number of bilingual and ESL teachers in New Jersey. We hope that the future will bring growth to this area. We also hope to cultivate biliteracy through advocating for dual language immersion at the early childhood level, especially in the years to come.

NJTESOL/NJBE 2019 Spring Conference:

We are looking forward to our annual Spring Conference. This year’s theme is cELLebrate: Celebrating the Success of Bilingual, Dual, & English Language Learners and is scheduled for May 29, 30, & 31, 2019 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. We are excited to welcome Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa as our keynote speaker on Friday, May 31. “Dr. Q” came to the United States with only $65.00 and bravely climbed the fence from Mexico into California to start a new life in 1987 (Landau, 2013). Today he is a widely recognized neurosurgeon and author. His story is truly inspiring.

In addition to all of the wonderful workshops available to conference attendees, we also have an annual Advocacy Summit and President's Award Reception. On Wednesday evening, we will host the Advocacy Summit. It is an informative meeting about advocating for our students and their families as well as a celebration of our advocacy honorees. In 2018 we honored Ken Bond, Bilingual/ESL Education Specialist, NJDOE, for his dedication to English learners. Thursday evening is the President’s Award Reception where we will honor our scholarship award winners. We award seven student scholarships as well as one teacher scholarship. Since it is our 50^th year, we have invited all of our past presidents to attend the reception. Our first president, Janet Susi, will be in attendance.

Visit our website https://njtesol-njbe.org/ to register for the 2019 Spring Conference or to learn more about our organization.

References:

Landau, Elizabeth. (2013, May 25). From Migrant Worker to Neurosurgeon. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2013/05/24/health/lifeswork-dr-q/index.html

NJDOE. (n.d). New Jersey State Seal of Biliteracy.

Retrieved from https://www.state.nj.us/education/aps/cccs/wl/biliteracy/over.htm

LeighAnn Matthews, NJTESOL/NJBE Liaison, is an ESL Instructional Coach at Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District in Bridgewater, New Jersey. She is also a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University. During the summer months, she teaches English as a Foreign Language at Rider University Study Tours Program.