Polish Bilingual Day 2019

On October 20th, 2019, the CALEC team took a field trip to Copiague, New York to participate in the 2019 Polish Bilingual Day at Polonia of Long Island. This family-oriented event featured celebrations of Polish language and culture through music, dance, and presentations from members of the Polish American community. One of the events main features was a presentation by the students and teachers of Kids Academy in Lindenhurst, a Polish language day care program, during which they highlighted their knowledge of the Polish language through games and songs. CALEC brought copies of its Polish translation of The Bilingual Revolution, and representatives spoke about CALEC’s mission and advocacy for dual-language education. They also provided resources to eventgoers interested in CALEC’s work and interviewed members of the Polish American community about the role of bilingualism in their lives.

Since the creation and documentation of Greenpoint’s Polish-English dual-language program in 2015, more Polish speaking parents and teachers have been inspired to advocate for similar programs in their own schools. Events like Polish Bilingual Day provide fantastic opportunities for communities to come together to celebrate their linguistic heritage and discuss education as a tool to further integrate bilingualism into their communities.