Advocacy in the Commonwealth

ADVOCACY in the COMMONWEALTH

PSMLA Advocacy Webpage is dedicated to promoting language education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We want to share with you different ideas, resources, and our formidable desire to promote a great cause: Making it possible for each Pennsylvania students to become proficient in more than one language.

National Horizon

ACTFL Advocacy Page and Resources The most complete list of resources, links, and facts (please start by the Legislative Action Center in the Box “TAKE ACTION”)
National World-Readiness Standards for Learning Language
P21’s Framework for 21st Century Learning The framework proposes to “define and illustrate the skills and knowledge students need to succeed in work, life and citizenship, as well as the support systems necessary for 21st century learning outcomes. It has been used by thousands of educators and hundreds of schools in the U.S. and abroad to put 21st century skills at the center of learning.” It claims to have been developed with input from teachers, education experts, and business leaders.
Engaging the World: US Global Competence in the 21^st Century While there are a lot of good information on the site, we recommend that you watch and share the videos (they are in English) when/if you need to convince students, counselors, administrators or even parents that developing global competence and world language skills is indeed helping Americans to compete in today’s global economy.

In Pennsylvania

2022 PSMLA Fall Conference - Advocating is key to your program's success (slide deck)
Contact your legislators to let your voice be heard: Contact Governor Wolf and Secretary of Education Noe Ortega or your local representatives to support the teaching of world languages, and request PA Foreign Language Learning Standards and the appointment of a state supervisor for languages.
Join PSMLA PSMLA partners with local, state, and national organizations (ACTFL, JNCL-NCLIS, NECTFL, AATs, PaCIE) to support world language education advocacy. Members stay updated on advocacy efforts through email alerts and other publications. Don’t forget that we are also present on Facebook and Twitter.
PSMLA Newsletter
PSMLA Global Scholars Program
PSMLA Exemplary Programs (PEP) Take part in the PEP (PSMLA Exemplary Program) Award process to gain state recognition for your school's world language program and to incentivize improvements that will have a meaningful and measurable effect on the learning outcomes of students
PSMLA Student Awards
Pennsylvania Department of Education (Teachers & Administrators > Curriculum > World Languages)
Pennsylvania Department of Education – World Languages FAQ
Pennsylvania Council for International Education (PACIE)

Locally

How to write a press release You are already doing so many good things that are not being advertised properly:
Submit your World Languages accomplishments to local newspapers
Tell PSMLA about your World Languages activities: Share them on our Facebook page.
How many of ACTFL Advocacy tips can you implement in your community? At the bottom of the page, check out the Advocacy tips. There are many that you should try to apply in your school, your district, such as how to educate other decision-makers in your community about the benefits of language learning, how to involve professional organizations beyond world languages.