Welcome, Multilingual and Newcomer Students!
It is important for schools to identify ways to support all students, and the time may come that you are searching for guidance when a student arrives who doesn’t speak the main language(s) used in your school. Multilingual and newcomer students and their families will need additional care to ensure that students receive the appropriate […]
Supporting ELLs Who Lack an Active Guardian
by Sarah Elia According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there were 13,513 encounters of unaccompanied minors in December 2023 and 8,571 in January 2024. As unaccompanied minors continue to enter the United States, it is important to recognize that many of them ultimately have a guardian who has little to no involvement in their […]
Unpacking Communication Bias in the Classroom
by Lauren Funai If you work in education, you likely don’t need to be told that linguistic diversity has been steadily on the rise in schools across the U.S. Though the United States is one of five countries in the world that has abstained from declaring an official language, English has been, and remains, the […]
Ensuring Successful and Inclusive Classrooms through Cultural Proficiency
Kelly B. Forbes, Ed.D. (learn more about Dr. Forbes HERE). In today’s culturally and linguistically diverse school districts, fostering inclusivity and celebrating cultural diversity are essential components of effective leading, teaching, and learning. Anchored in Lindsey & Lindsey’s (2016) Conceptual Framework for Culturally Proficient Practices, the Integrated Cultural Language and Proficiency Framework (ICLPF), generated from […]
Strengthening Multilingual Access for All
by Kelly Forbes, Ed.D. Did you know that Multilingual/English learner (ML/EL) students make up nine to 10 percent (9%-10%) of all public school students? That means nearly three out of every four public schools are bilingual/multilingual schools! How amazing! Therefore, it’s crucial that we, as educators and leaders, ensure all of our students can participate […]
Interview: Dr. Heath Grimes
Editor: Sarah Elia A few months ago I came across a webinar on Education Week What Schools Can Do to Help English Learners Thrive. Dr. Heath Grimes, Superintendent of Education for Russellville City Schools in Russellville, Alabama, was one of the speakers on the webinar. As a school leader, he struck me as unusually passionate […]
K-12 teacher spotlight: Kelly Aldinger
Affiliation: Albany, New York – East Greenbush Central Schools & Siena CollegeYears in the classroom: 6 What is your biggest challenge as a K-12 teacher of multilingual learners? I think the biggest challenge of this work is the “invisible tax” that English as a New Language (ENL) educators often face. Not only do we carry […]
Cultivating Connections: The Heart of Culturally Responsive Family Engagement
by Louise El Yaafouri Cultivating Connections: The Heart of Culturally Responsive Family Engagement In today’s diverse educational landscapes, embracing culturally responsive practices isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential. Culturally responsive family engagement goes beyond multicultural checkboxes; it’s about creating meaningful connections that honor and embrace the rich funds of knowledge that our multilingual and multicultural families bring […]
AI, Language Learning, and Language Access
by Dr. David Holbrook One of the first films to come out that included some type of artificial intelligence (AI) was 2001: A Space Odyssey. In that film, the sentient supercomputer HAL is cast as the villain, killing everyone on a mission in space except the protagonist. The film came out in 1968. Fast forward […]
Embracing Multilingual Education: A Journey of Personal and Professional Growth
by Kelly Forbes, Ed.D. As I embarked on my teaching career in 2007, I never envisioned myself as an educator. I had thought I was going to be a dancing, bilingual veterinarian! Nevertheless, I soon learned I would be living a different path. Having a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a background in performance all […]