ICOE Honors Biliteracy Champions Across Imperial County
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Educators, advocates and graduating seniors from across Imperial County gathered May 29 to celebrate the power of multilingualism during the Imperial County Office of Education’s inaugural Biliteracy Excellence Celebration.
Held at the ICOE Administrative Conference Center, the countywide event highlighted the growing importance of biliteracy. It recognized individuals who have helped students thrive academically while embracing multiple languages and cultures.
Approximately 30 English Learner Champions and County Legacy Award recipients were honored for their dedication to English learners and multilingual education. School districts throughout Imperial County selected recipients through nomination processes that recognized those who made meaningful contributions to students, families, and multilingual communities.
Among the evening’s most meaningful recognitions was the County Legacy Award presented in memory of Lupita Olguin-Rubio.
Gabriela Olguin-Nixon, an Imperial Unified School District board trustee, said her late sister dedicated her career to ensuring English learner students felt welcomed, supported, and given the same opportunities as their peers. Born in Mexicali to parents who did not complete high school, Olguin-Rubio viewed education as a pathway to opportunity and made it her mission to help students overcome language barriers.
“She was determined to make sure that every single student felt accepted and had the opportunity to learn like everybody else who did speak English,” Olguin-Nixon said. Fighting back emotion, she added, “I always knew that my sister was amazing and great at everything she did, but the fact that they’re doing this is just very overwhelming.” Olguin-Rubio passed away Feb. 27. Olguin-Nixon thanked the Imperial County Office of Education for honoring her sister’s legacy and shared a message she believes Lupita would have given students: “Adelante, que no pare. Sí se puede.”
Imperial County Office of Education Superintendent Todd Finnell said the inaugural Biliteracy Excellence Celebration was created to recognize educators who make bilingual education and biliteracy a priority in schools throughout Imperial County.
“Tonight is about celebrating the educators who really support bilingual education and biliteracy, making it a priority in our community,” Finnell said. He noted that Imperial County is a very bicultural community and that many students “live in multiple worlds, across borders and boundaries,” making language and culture central to their educational experience.
Finnell credited the ICOE team that works in multilingual education for developing the event, saying, “They looked at it and said we want to make sure that we recognize those folks that are making it a priority in our schools, and also recognize and celebrate our students that have gone on to get the Seal of Biliteracy.” He added that the seal recognizes students who demonstrate proficiency in two or more languages.
Renato Montano, deputy superintendent of the Imperial County Office of Education, said his message during the inaugural Biliteracy Excellence Celebration focused on the value of bilingualism, biliteracy and multicultural experiences. “It’s not really about the awards,” Montano said. “It’s more about celebrating bilingualism and biliteracy and multicultural experiences.” Drawing from his own experiences, he said many educators, parents, and students have overcome language barriers in their education and communities and have gone on to achieve success. Montano emphasized that bilingualism can create lifelong opportunities for students. Recalling advice from a university professor, he said, “El que habla dos lenguas vale por dos,” which translates to “A person who speaks two languages is worth two.” He said pursuing bilingualism helps students succeed academically while allowing them to remain connected to their families.
Daniela Castro, representing Calexico Unified School District, was one of the inaugural English Learner Champion honorees. She said her work focuses on helping English learner students gain confidence in their language skills while maintaining pride in their bilingual identity.
Castro, who has spent 10 years in education and currently serves as an intervention teacher and instructional coach, said she helped reclassify 19 students last year and 22 this year after they achieved proficiency on the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California.
“They were speaking English, they were excited, they were not afraid to speak, to share out,” Castro said. She encourages students to embrace both languages and cultures, telling them that being bilingual is an asset. “I’m bilingual, I never lost my Spanish, and I’m still learning English,” she said. “It’s really good to know two languages because we’re worth more, because we know two different cultures and two different languages.”
Lupita Moreno Perez, principal of Lincoln Elementary School in the El Centro School District and one of the inaugural English Learner Champion honorees, said promoting biliteracy has been a lifelong passion both professionally and personally. As a leader of dual-language immersion programs and the parent of children who earned the State Seal of Biliteracy, Moreno Perez said the recognition validates the work being done to help students become proficient in English and Spanish.
“This is my passion, and this is something that I’m very proud of,” she said. “Being a part of this really is exciting for me. It’s validating for me, and it just shows that what we are doing is good for kids.” Moreno Perez said schools must use a combination of curriculum, instructional strategies, and technology to support biliteracy, but emphasized that success depends on a collaborative effort.
“We need the teachers, the instructional aides, the office staff, and the librarian. Everybody has to be on board, especially the parents,” she said. “Our kids need to know how important it is to be biliterate and bilingual and to be able to proficient in both languages.”
