Garden Grove Unified Earns Two Prestigious Statewide Awards for Biliteracy Leadership

Friday, February 20, 2026

Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) has earned two major statewide honors recognizing the district’s leadership in bilingual education and commitment to student multilingual success. The district has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Trailblazer—Visionary Board Award from the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) and the 2026 Lynne Aoki Multiple Pathways to Biliteracy District Recognition Award from Californians Together.

The CABE Trailblazer - Visionary Board Award recognizes districts that demonstrate bold leadership in expanding multilingual opportunities and advancing educational equity. GGUSD was honored for its expansion of Vietnamese Dual Language Immersion programs and the launch of the region’s first after-school Vietnamese Heritage Language program. The program engages students and families through language and cultural enrichment while strengthening school-community connections.

The Lynne Aoki Multiple Pathways to Biliteracy District Recognition Award celebrates districts that build comprehensive systems supporting biliteracy from early learning through graduation. The award recognizes GGUSD’s well-developed Spanish and Vietnamese biliteracy pathways that promote high levels of bilingual proficiency. The selection committee highlighted the district’s strong leadership, community engagement, and clearly defined milestones that celebrate students’ progress toward bilingualism and biliteracy. These include recognition opportunities across grade levels that culminate in students graduating fully prepared to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy.

Together, the two honors underscore GGUSD’s national reputation as a leader in multilingual education and its commitment to ensuring every student has access to rigorous, culturally responsive programs that prepare them for college, career, and global citizenship.

Both awards will be presented during the 2026 CABE Annual Conference in San Francisco which will be attended by GGUSD Board of Education Vice President Lan Nguyen and Trustee Teri Rocco.

“These recognitions reflect our belief that multilingualism is a powerful asset,” said Board of Education Trustee Teri Rocco. “We are proud to create pathways that honor students’ identities, engage families, and prepare graduates to thrive in a diverse and interconnected world.”