FEBRUARY 2024:
We’re proud to announce that MLCP member, Parkvile High School Spanish teacher Edwin Pérez, was honored as the 2024 Latinx Educator of the Year by the Latinx Education Collaborative (LEC)!
The award was presented during the Latinx Educator Awards Reception on March 8, 2024 in Kansas City, Mo.
116 educators from many states were nominated for the honor. Mr. Pérez was selected as the award recipient by a review committee comprised of LEC Educator Advisory Board members who are past recipients of the award. Reviewers considered how nominees reflected the “Latinx Educator Values” of community, authenticity, impact, personal growth, and integrity.
Mr. Pérez has a working knowledge of how discrimination affects all students, but especially students of color and Latinx students. He uses his voice and his pen to speak up and out for his students. Also, he encourages his students to be leaders in the schoolhouse and the local community. He deeply believes that all students have the right to a first-rate education to compete in this global society. He not only speaks out for his students, but is a leader for educators: he is the chairperson for the Minority Affairs Committee of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County (TABCO).
JANUARY 2024:
At the Council’s January 2023 General Meeting, the Council adopted a position on supporting the CALL Act.
DECEMBER 2023:
At the Council’s December 2023 board meeting, Edwin Perez presented on The Credit for All Language Learning (CALL) Act, which will be voted upon during Maryland General Assembly’s 2024 legislative session. The goal of the bill is to ensure that higher education institutions in Maryland recognize students’ work in English language learning classes equally with comparable work in college world language classes. The CALL Act would award equal credit for equal work and expand pathways for diverse students to transfer from community colleges to Maryland colleges and universities.
Link to one-page policy brief:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n-u7fCM6yaPjm2AFkkMSq-TKoTddAVIx/view?usp=sharing
Link to the related Baltimore Banner editorial “Maryland higher ed should credit all language learning”: