She Is a Champion for English Learners
Angela Wright is a 2023–2024 Teach Plus California Policy Fellow, an alumna of the California Emergent Bilingual Change Agent (EBCAN) program, and a Teach Plus Emergent Bilingual Change Agent Mobilizer. She is a Title III teacher on special assignment for Azusa Unified School District in Azusa, California, supporting administrators and teachers as they work to implement best instructional practices for emerging bilingual students so they can meet their language proficiency goals. Angela previously taught grades kindergarten through 6th. As a Policy Fellow, she and her colleagues will advocate for systems change to ensure that the California English Learner Roadmap fulfills its vision that all English learners fully and meaningfully access and participate in a 21st century education. As a Mobilizer, Angela brings the “why” into the Roadmap by having students in her district write impact statements to show how it is making a difference in their lives. The teacher leader is also a member of the English Learner Legacy and Leadership Initiative and participated in the teacher roundtable that contributed to the Roadmap’s Teacher Toolkit.
My teacher leader journey matters
Helping to grow equity and opportunities for students are the reasons I applied for Teach Plus.
I am passionate about ensuring equitable instruction and closing the achievement gap for our most vulnerable students and especially our English learners. This is why I am focused on helping educators and families learn about the California English Learner Roadmap and ensuring it’s implemented across our state. I see the Roadmap come alive through our state Teach Plus advocacy projects, in addition to my current special assignment. I am working on a master plan for English learners for my district to put the state’s roadmap into practice. My assignment includes supporting administrators, teachers and students, setting goals, monitoring progress, and creating a handbook for newcomers and Long-Term English Learners (LTELs). My work with Teach Plus has made my reach and my ability to create opportunities for our students even greater.
I advocate for students
During the 2021–2022 school year, I looped with my students from 5th grade to 6th grade, and we read and analyzed many culturally relevant texts, including Brown Girl Dreaming (Jacqueline Woodson), Silvia and Aki (Winifred Conkling), and They Called Us Enemy (George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven Scott). My students were so inspired by the literature that they wrote their own narratives and poetry based on their family stories and what they were feeling as they were living through the pandemic and unrest that was weaving its way throughout the country. Then they presented at a school board meeting, sharing what it was like to read literature in which they felt represented and connected. It was really empowering to hear them tell their stories and advocate in a room full of adults. “What caught my attention was that there were words and some sentences in Spanish,” said my student, Yahely. “Since my first language was Spanish, I was really proud to see it in a book in school. I made many connections with this book.” Through my day-to-day work and Teach Plus advocacy, I strive to ensure all our English learners are able to access content, participate actively in their learning, and progress in their language and academic skills.
Teacher leadership has changed me
Before Teach Plus, I wasn’t as vocal or sure of what I was trying to accomplish. Now, my confidence is boosted, thanks to the support of Teach Plus leaders and my interactions with other educators in Teach Plus programs. I have had such a positive experience, giving me inspiration and hope for the work we are doing and the skills to keep the work going into the future. I have made connections through Teach Plus that will last a lifetime. Even when my programs end, I know I can reach out to people in my group, as well as Teach Plus leaders and community. I hope that those I have met through the opportunities and experiences I have had know that they can come to me, too, once my Teach Plus advocacy concludes. I hope it never does.
