Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)

English Language Learners/Bilingual Education Advisory Council

Under Massachusetts General Laws (c. 15, §1G), the Department is required to establish and maintain a bilingual education Advisory Council. The English Language Learners/Bilingual Education Advisory Council's role is to advise the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Commissioner on matters pertaining to the education of English Language Learners (ELLs) in Massachusetts' public schools. Specifically, the Council will:

assess statewide trends and needs
seek public and professional input
analyze information regarding education of ELLs
advise and make recommendations regarding legislation, regulations, and program guidelines
provide other programmatic recommendations as it deems necessary to fulfill the goals established by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Council Members

The EL/Bilingual Education Advisory Council is composed of members recommended by the Commissioner and appointed by the Board of Education. Appointment to the Council is for a three-year term, and no member may serve more than two consecutive terms. Membership is presently comprised of local education officials, teachers, parents, students, and representatives from higher education. A list of current council members follows:

Name	Title	Institution
Allison Balter	Founding Principal	ENLACE, Lawrence Public Schools
Heidys Mendez	Parent Liaison	Haverhill Public Schools
Meghan Lampert	Parent, English Learner Teacher	Chatham Elementary School
Kellie Jones	Director of Bilingual Education	Brockton Public Schools
Antonina Parris-Yarbrough	EL Specialist	Excel Academy Charter Schools
Ivonne Borrero	Supervisor, English Learners and Students with Disabilities	Boston Public Schools
Dalida Rocha	Political Coordinator	SEIU
Andrea Parker	Parent, Diversity-Equity Coach
Jill Davan	Parent, ELD Instructional Coach/Teacher Dual Immersion	Framingham School District
Kerri Lamprey	ESL Curriculum Coordinator	Burlington Public Schools
Mary Jo Rendón	Family/Community Engagement Specialist	Waltham School District
Chris Leider	Program Director, Bilingual Education and TESOL	Boston University
Meg Burns	President, MABE Asst. Professor TESOL/Bilingual Education	MABE Lesley University
Craig Consigli	Asst. Superintendent	Milford Public Schools
Monica Abdullah	Special Education/Vocational Tech Educator	The Center School Holyoke
Virginia Guglielmo-Brady	EL Director and Curriculum Coordinator	Pittsfield Public Schools
Ahmed Noor	Director of EL Community Outreach	Boston Public Schools
Taran Tiwari	Nepali Parent Liaison	Springfield Public Schools
Anis Abdulle	Chair of the Board of Directors	African Community and Economic Development of New England (ACEDONE)

Names of council co-chairpersons appear in bold type.

Meeting Schedule for the 2020-2021 School Year

The EL/Bilingual Education Advisory Council will meet on the following dates during the 2020-2021 school year:

Date	Time	Location
10/29/2020	10:00am–12:00pm	This meeting is being held remotely. If you would like to attend please email David.Valade@mass.gov for the ZOOM link.
2/24/2021	10:00am–12:00pm	This meeting is being held remotely. If you would like to attend please email David.Valade@mass.gov for the ZOOM link.
5/13/2021	10:00am–12:00pm	This meeting is being held remotely. If you would like to attend please email David.Valade@mass.gov for the ZOOM link.

All meetings will take place virtually via Zoom unless otherwise noted. Final links and proposed agenda topics will be posted on the EL/Bilingual Education Advisory Council webpage at least 48 hours before each meeting.

Contact Information

781-338-6711

David.Valade@mass.gov

Last Updated: January 5, 2021