Teacher says bilingual programs and adult education helped students and adult learners in Vallejo City Unified

Sofia Moreno, a teacher at Cave Language Academy in Vallejo City Unified, spoke at a district meeting and described how the district’s programs supported both K–12 students and adult learners.

Moreno said Vallejo City Unified’s diversity and its dual-immersion program set the district apart. “That’s 1 of the nice things that we now have where we are cultivating bilingualism and multi culturalism within our students,” she said, adding that bilingual programming is a central reason she remains in the district.

She also described the district’s adult-education pathway: a student she teaches, and that student’s husband, attended adult-school English classes twice a week, moved on to HiSET preparation and classes, and later pursued citizenship. “They have recently become a citizen of The United States,” Moreno said, citing the students’ progression from English classes to HiSET and then to naturalization.

Moreno emphasized social-emotional support in the classroom, recounting one student whose ability to regulate emotions and cope with daily triggers improved markedly over a school year. She credited district mental-health providers and Student Study Teams (SSTs) for creating “a space where they felt safe and heard,” which she said helped that student’s growth.

Moreno concluded her remarks by urging district prioritization: “Think VCUSD first.”

The remarks were delivered as testimony in a district meeting; no formal motions or votes were recorded in the provided transcript.