Standard 4 Aspect A

The program is committed to and invests in strengthening and improving the education profession and the P-20 education system. Each program’s context (or multiple contexts) provides particular opportunities to engage the field’s shared challenges and to foster and support innovation. Engagement with critical issues is essential and must be contextualized. Sharing results of contextualized engagement and innovation supports the field’s collective effort to address education’s most pressing challenges through improvement and innovation.

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Partnership/Advisory Board:
Please see table below with names, roles, and affiliations of current advisory board members. During the 2020-2021 academic year, the BAP coordinator assembled a program advisory board that consists of program faculty, adjunct instructors, counselor, clinical practice coaches, district partners, liberal studies chair, multiple subject program coordinator, and dual language community leaders. 

How often meet:
BAP advisory committee meetings are held three times a semester. 

Description of group’s purpose/function:
The primary goals of the BAP advisory committee are to share state and institutional news regarding bilingual/dual immersion education. For example, the BAP coordinator reports on state, CSU system, and programmatic updates, policies, and other relevant guidelines pertaining to the preparation of bilingual/dual immersion teachers. Advisory group members represent other programs/institutions such as Liberal Studies, Multiple Subject credential, Central California Dual Language Consortium, Fresno Unified, and Madera Unified. Such members also share updates in the advisory committees which ensures proper and prompt communication to students in the BAP pipeline.  

Examples of specific challenge/identified need (with data to support):
A challenge that arose during the BAP coordinator’s first year is the small number of candidates in the Hmong BAP pathway. During the 2020-2021 academic year, the coordinator reached out to the Fresno Unified Hmong language immersion program manager to discuss strategies to support the high school Hmong heritage program in the district and recruitment of students into Fresno State’s Hmong BAP pathway. 

Discussion of steps taken to address challenge/identified need:
The steps that have been taken so far to address this challenge is the scheduling of recruitment events, such as BAP recruitment presentations in district Hmong heritage classrooms, and Hmong community events, such as the Hmong new year celebration. These events will collect interested student information in order to keep students informed and offer proper guidance to ensure success in their educational journeys. 

Plans for Future Stakeholder Involvement:
In order to adequately serve local districts and schools with their bilingual/dual immersion needs, the BAP coordinator will extend personal invitations to additional key stakeholders that work directly with local bilingual/dual immersion teachers and know firsthand the educational challenges of high need schools and dual immersion/ emergent bilingual children. For example, there are two (2) key leaders within Fresno Unified that will be invited to join the advisory committee as they are in charge of teacher development and support for the Spanish and Hmong dual language programs (please see table below). These individuals are vital for gaining knowledge of district needs and challenges, such as addressing disparities in educational outcomes for dual immersion/emergent bilingual children, that can be addressed among all stakeholders and supported by the BAP. In addition, they are key individuals that can assist with attaining alumni and employer feedback to ensure that the BAP is producing teachers that meet the needs of the employing districts and their students/families. In addition, a priority area for local districts with bilingual/dual immersion programs is the increase of bilingual/dual immersion classroom placements and bilingual coaches to accommodate the growing need for more teachers. Therefore, staff from the Fresno State Office of Clinical Practice (OCP) will be invited to join the advisory committee as well. 

How often will you meet?
BAP advisory committee meetings are held three times a semester. 

How will you ensure all individuals have a voice?
With such a large advisory board, it is anticipated that not all members will be able to attend all meetings. Therefore, agendas and minutes will always be shared electronically with all committee members where they will be encouraged to add items, read minutes, and set up one-on-one appointments with the BAP coordinator to ensure their voices are heard. 

What data might you together examine to inform your work?
Advisory committee members will be encouraged to present district/school level data, such as school needs and disparities that can be analyzed, discussed, and strategized among committee members and can inform policies and practices which can further align the goals of all stakeholders and their respective institutions. For the BAP in particular, necessary programmatic changes can be revised/implemented to ensure that program graduates are ready to serve district areas of need. 

Aspect B →