August 2025 • Issue 94 • California Association for Bilingual Education | | This month, CABE celebrates... | |
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Upcoming CABE Dates and Deadlines in this Issue...
| | Find out what happening in Sacramento that impacts education... | | | | |
CABE Legislative Advocate Report
by Jennifer Baker
- Legislature Adjourns for Summer Recess
- CABE-Supported Legislation
- Legislative Calendar
| | CABE 2025 proposal deadline has been extended to this Friday, Aug. 8th... | | Upcoming professional learning opportunities.... | | 2026 Multilingual Educator Call for Ads... | | Meet Dr. Reyes Quezada, our new Director of Secondary & IHE Affairs... | | | | CABE is proud to welcome Dr. Reyes Limón Quezada to the CABE Board of Directors as our new Director of Secondary and Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) Affairs. A lifelong advocate for multilingual learners and educational equity, Dr. Quezada brings decades of experience as an educator, researcher, and leader in bilingual and international teacher education, educational policy, cultural proficiency, and family-school-community engagement. | | |
Born in the ranching community of La Labor de los Montoya in San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco, Mexico, Dr. Quezada spent his early years in a small adobe home along with three sisters and then four brothers. At age seven, his family immigrated to the United States, after his father secured sponsorship from the Elmore Ranch Company to move them to California following the end of the Bracero Program. Raised in a tight-knit, Spanish-speaking community, the brothers were placed in pull-out ESL programs upon entering elementary school. Ironically, they were also enrolled in Spanish as a world language class—an experience that gave them a rare moment of academic affirmation and success. Though his twin, Efrain, and Dr. Quezada were retained in the first grade, they persevered, later taking community college courses during high school and graduating early, in their junior year.
| | Wedding photo of father, José Timoteo, and mother, Belén, at his abuelito's adobe house | | Mexican passport photo of mother, brothers, and sisters Lola, Amparo and María | | Outside the classroom, summers and weekends were spent working in the fields at the Elmore Ranch—picking tomatoes, onions, pitching watermelons into 16-wheel semi-trucks, and “desaijando lechuga” (weeding lettuce) using the infamous “el cortito” the “short hoe” which was later banned (thanks to Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and the UFW) due to many back injuries of farmworkers. While attending Imperial Valley College, Dr. Quezada joined the California Mini-Corps indoor summer and outdoor education programs, igniting his passion for teaching. He transferred to San José State University, earning a B.A. in Liberal Studies, a BCLAD credential, and a minor in Mexican American History. | | |
Following the unexpected passing of his youngest brother, Dr. Quezada paused his graduate studies to support his family and began teaching a combined bilingual 5th/6th grade class in the Brawley Elementary School District. There, he met his future wife, Cynthia, then a fellow teacher and later the Title VII director and Migrant Education Program Coordinator at the high school. She is retired from the Redlands Unified School District, where she was an assistant principal, principal, Director of Categorical Programs, and Director of Human Resources.
| | (L to R) Efraín, Rubén, Chava, Reyes. and baby Raymundo, who died in a car accident at age 17 | | |
Dr. Quezada went on to complete two master's degrees and an Education Specialist post-master’s degree from Point Loma Nazarene University, and earned his Ed.D. in Educational Administration and Supervision from Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. His dissertation examined the effectiveness of the Mini-Corps program, further cementing his commitment to preparing culturally responsive bilingual educators.
His academic career has included teaching and leadership roles at CSU San Bernardino, SDSU-Imperial Valley Campus, CSU Stanislaus, the University of Redlands, and—over the past 26 years—at the University of San Diego (USD), where he currently serves in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, Department of Learning and Teaching. A long-time supporter of CABE, Dr. Quezada first connected with the organization through Mini-Corps and helped establish a local chapter in Imperial County. He has been a frequent presenter at CABE conferences and was instrumental in assisting with the founding of CABTE—the California Association for Bilingual Teacher Education—alongside former CABE Presidents Drs. Magaly Lavadenz and Anaida Colón-Muñiz.
“I’ve always felt the need to support English learners, and migrant students, who are just like me and our family,” he reflects. “CABE is the premier organization serving multilingual learners and their teachers. I’ve wanted to run for the board for years, and I’m proud to now serve in this capacity.”
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Dr. Quezada’s leadership extends to national and international platforms, with service in AACTE, ATE, ICET, CAEP, and AAQEP. He also served as vice chair of USD’s Faculty Senate and formerly served on the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing’s Committee on Accreditation (COA). He recently concluded his term as Chair of the Department of Learning and Teaching at USD. USD has since become a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), and he currently leads the university’s HSI Advisory Council. He hopes to develop a university-wide Seal of Biliteracy. He is the Principal Investigator for a Bilingual Teacher Residency partnership with the Chula Vista Elementary School District. He also recently completed as PI of the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity Transformation grant.
| | Outside of his professional commitments, Dr. Quezada enjoys hiking—an interest first nurtured through Mini-Corps outdoor programs and summer camps. He and his wife Cynthia, now retired from Redlands USD where she held several leadership positions, have two adult children: Kristina (39), a college counselor at the Eje Academy for Social Justice, a K–8 dual language immersion school in El Cajon, CA, married to Dylan Parker who works with Adult Special Needs individuals, and Raymundo (37), Chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at Grossmont College, married to Kayla Kuss, a teacher in the Coronado Unified School District in San Diego. They are proud grandparents to Vivienne Belén, age one, and coming in October, Emilio Reyes. Dr. Quezada’s beloved father, Timoteo Quezada, recently passed away at age 100, and his mother, Belén, passed 15 years ago. He credits all of his success to his parents and family. | | |
Granddaughter Vivian's
1st Birthday
| | Read more about Dr. Reyes Limón Quezada on CABE's website here: https://gocabe.org/cabe-board/ | | |
Dr. Quezada continues to write and conduct research on culturally proficient bilingual and global teacher education, family-school-community partnerships, and educational equity and justice. He currently teaches in USD’s Ph.D. in Education for Social Justice and MEd Online programs and still teaches the course he developed more than 20 years ago—EDUC 501: Family, School, and Community Partnerships.
“As a CABE board member,” he says, “I look forward to continuing my passion for multilingual teacher preparation in K–12 and higher education, advocating for immigrant rights, supporting students and faculty of color—especially Latino/as—fostering family and community engagement, and advancing global education.”
| | Join us in congratulating Natalie Núñez on her promotion... | | Here's what's going on at local chapters... | | |
On November 21, 2024, CABE Pepperdine Chapter held a Hybrid Cultural Exchange and Networking Event to promote CABE and encourage CABE memberships.
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On February 20, 2025, CABE Pepperdine Chapter hosted an engaging panel featuring experienced educators and administrators. They shared innovative strategies for teaching multilingual students, implementing dual immersion programs, and insights into curriculum design and effective teaching methods. This was a great opportunity for educators and stakeholders interested in bilingual education careers and best practices.
| | Other items of interest to the CABE community... | |
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How Translanguaging Can Support
Disciplinary Literacy Instruction
Translanguaging is the practice of thinking, speaking, and writing in more than one language (for multilingual students in the US, that is usually a home language and English). It allows multilingual individuals to draw on all their language and literacy knowledge to make meaning, communicate, and learn and can be a powerful approach to helping multilingual students thrive.
Disciplinary literacy refers to the specialized ways of reading, writing, and thinking unique to each academic subject––or discipline––and understanding its norms, conventions, and practices to engage in inquiry and build knowledge.
In their blog post, “Supporting Multilingual Learners in Disciplinary Literacy,” Amanda Nabors and Annette Gregg at WestEd discuss the intersection of these two concepts and how teachers can use one to support the other. They explore multilingual learners’ use of translanguaging to support communication and describe how teachers can capitalize on it to support students who are multilingual learners in gaining disciplinary literacy.
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Lincoln Park Festival:
A Celebration of
Women in Theatre
Experience an unforgettable cultural event at the Lincoln Park Festival, where the power of storytelling takes center stage. This dynamic festival brings together major performances, stage readings, and micro theatre—all crafted by talented playwrights who are shaping the future of theatre.
Audiences will enjoy a diverse lineup of compelling works, from full-scale productions to intimate staged readings and experimental micro theatre performances. Each piece explores unique perspectives, amplifying the voices of women in the arts and offering fresh, thought-provoking narratives.
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Join us for a festival filled with inspiration, creativity, and groundbreaking performances—all set in the heart of Lincoln Park. Whether you're a theater enthusiast, an artist, or a supporter of inspirational storytelling, this event promises to be a celebration of talent, diversity, and innovation.
Website: www.bfatheatre.org Instagram: @bfa_theatre Facebook: BFA Theatre TikTok: @bfa.theatre
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