Across California’s Central Valley, educators are increasingly recognizing an urgent need to effectively support newcomer students while tapping into their rich linguistic and cultural assets. As these students enter new school systems, they often face significant barriers. While statewide efforts have elevated the needs of multilingual learners, newcomers represent a distinct and emerging focus that requires intentional systems, collaboration and innovation.

In response, the Merced County Office of Education launched the Newcomer Network in fall 2024, creating a space for educators, leaders and advocates to come together with a shared purpose of strengthening support for newcomer students. What began as a small network of 34 participants quickly grew into a regional hub for learning and collaboration. Through a series of Zoom sessions featuring speakers from across California, participants engaged in meaningful dialogue, explored research-based practices, and gained practical tools to immediately support students in their classrooms and schools.

Each session was intentionally designed to address the real challenges educators face when supporting newcomer students. Early sessions focused on promoting engagement in classrooms and explored strategies such as comprehensible input, student interaction and language acquisition practices that help multilingual learners meaningfully access instruction. Another session, led by Anita Villasenor, a high school counselor working directly with newcomer students, provided practical guidance on course placement, transcript evaluation, and navigating policies such as Assembly Bill 2121 to better support students transitioning into secondary school systems. AB 2121 (2018) extended to newcomer students a law already in place for foster care and homeless students that exempts those who transfer between schools any time after the completion of the second year of high school from all locally adopted high school coursework and requirements that are supplemental to statewide coursework requirements.

Additional sessions, including one led by Lillian Ardell, a prominent advocate for multilingualism, challenged educators to rethink instructional practices and mindsets through conversations around translanguaging and the use of home languages as assets rather than temporary supports. Participants also engaged with the U.S. Department of Education’s Newcomer Toolkit, analyzing student experiences, reflecting on systems of support, and collaborating through case studies and group discussions focused on strengthening schoolwide responses for newcomer students. Together, these sessions provided educators with opportunities to move beyond theory and into actionable planning grounded in real student experiences.

That momentum continued with the network expanding beyond virtual sessions and hosting its first in-person convening, bringing together educators from across the state, from San Diego to Sacramento. Attendance surpassed 100 participants, signaling both the demand for and commitment to this work.

The convening highlighted partnerships with organizations such as Teach Plus, Californians Together and the California Newcomer Network. It included a full-day training by Efraín Tovar, founder of the California Newcomer Network, focused on lesson design, social-emotional responsiveness and effective planning, while also providing practical guidance on pacing and instructional delivery. Participants left with concrete strategies they could immediately apply to better support newcomer students in both classroom instruction and broader school systems.

Building on this success, Merced COE is expanding the work even further. The upcoming two-day Newcomer Network Conference in October reflects a growing regional movement centered on collaboration, shared learning and system-level change. The conference will bring together educators, nonprofit organizations and leaders from across California to highlight research-based practices, share tools and resources, and strengthen support for newcomer students.

This work is led by the Merced COE Strategic Systems Improvement, Data and Research team, including Erika Davalos Lemus, Nestor Henrriquez, Emily Tietjen and Manuel Cavazos, whose combined expertise spans both instructional practice and compliance systems for multilingual learners. Their approach is grounded in improvement science, working alongside districts to identify challenges and design sustainable solutions that elevate student outcomes.

Efforts like the Newcomer Network reflect a broader shift across the region, one that recognizes multilingualism as an asset and invests in systems that allow students to thrive. What began as a small gathering has evolved into a powerful regional effort that continues to grow, adapt and lead the way in supporting newcomer and multilingual students across California.

This article was written by Nestor Henrriquez, Erika Davalos Lemus, Emily Tietjen and Manuel Cavazos from the Strategic Systems Improvement, Data, and Research Department of the Merced COE.