S7/E7: A Case for Changing How We Label “English Learners” with Araceli García

What’s in a name, or in this case, a label? Why do many prefer the term “Emergent Bilingual” over other terminology like English learner, LEP, or even multilingual learner? On the 40th anniversary year of the Castañeda v. Pickard Case, what progress have we made and what do we still need to do to ensure the civil rights for our multilingual learners? How might a name/title change lead to significant changes in how we perceive and educate our multilingual learners?

We discuss these questions and much more with Araceli Garcia. Araceli grew up on the South Side of San Antonio and is the daughter and granddaughter of Mexican immigrants. She is the first person in her family to attend college, and her passion for immigrants’ rights stems from seeing her family and community insist on dignity while struggling to navigate their immigration and socioeconomic status. A graduate of Stanford University, Araceli has received several awards for her academic excellence and community service including the John Gardner Fellowship for Public Service, Newman Civic Fellow Award, and Stanford's Porras Award for Visionary Leadership. Most recently, Araceli served as an inaugural Education Policy Fellow with IDRA, where she focused on rights of emergent bilingual (English learner) and immigrant students. Araceli graduated from Stanford with a bachelor’s degree in Chicanx/Latinx Studies and a minor in education. Currently, she is pursuing a law degree at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, where she was named an Equal Justice Scholar and plans to continue serving low-income and racially marginalized communities.

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