Coalition Mission

The Coalition of Community-Based Heritage Language Schools is a nationwide initiative, established in 2012, to connect, support, and advocate for community-based heritage language schools across the United States.

Coalition Goals

1. Connect and facilitate communication among community-based heritage language (CBHL) schools and organizations in the U.S by

• Organizing an annual conference, webinars, and online discussions
• Providing outreach via our website, Facebook page, and newsletter
• Reaching out to and forming partnerships with different languages and schools
• Working closely with language representatives and umbrella organizations of different language groups to share experiences and best practices

2. Provide CBHL schools with information and resources on important topics, such as

• How to start a new community-based school and form a nonprofit organization
• How to improve an existing program in a school (including teacher training, teacher retention, increased enrollment, student and parent engagement, effective instruction, school administration, and tax issues)
• How to grant students recognition for language proficiency (through tests, credits, Seals, and other ways)
• How to use technology in CBHL schools
• How to reach out to and work together with the local language community
• How to collaborate with other schools and organizations focused on the specific language; how to form a language umbrella organization
• How to form state, district, or regional groups of CBHL schools
• How to incorporate project-based and inquiry-based learning in CBHL schools

3. Increase the visibility of CBHL schools to U.S. educators, politicians, researchers, and other stakeholders by

• Representing schools to U.S. educators (school districts, U.S. Department of Education), politicians (State Boards of Education, state representatives), researchers, and other stakeholders
• Articulating the contributions of CBHL schools to language education and to the well-being of communities
• Articulating the most pressing needs and challenges common to CBHL schools (such as funding and recognition of proficiency) and advocating for CBHL schools

4. Gather data about CBHL schools and press for inclusion of this data in official U.S. education statistics and national reports by

• Collecting comprehensive data about CBHL schools via a CBHL school survey
• Building a database of CBHL schools
• Providing a visual representation of the number and diversity of CBHL schools via a map of CBHL schools documented

5. Strive for CBHL schools to become a legitimate part of the national language education landscape by

• Urging for recognition of students’ HL proficiency via AP credit, the Seal of Biliteracy, tests from home countries, and other pathways
• Seeking ways for students to receive U.S. high school credit for their language skills (students should be able to substitute proficiency in their heritage language for languages offered)
• Supporting CBHL schools to become accredited to provide testing results on the graduating documents of their students
• Supporting CBHL schools to find ways to provide legitimization to their teachers (U.S. credit for professional development and workshops from the home country)
• Supporting CBHL schools to find opportunities to apply for funding