How Schools and Families Can Honor Students’ Identities

by Becki Cohn-Vargas and Debbie Zacarian For too long, many children have experienced barriers that harm their sense of safety, belonging, value, competence, and confidence to speak up for themselves and others. Examples include children who are teased about their race, gender identity, the languages they speak, and being neurodiverse. …

Teachers College Board Review: Identity Safe Spaces at Home and School: Partnering to Overcome Inequity

“Identity Safe Spaces at Home and School,” by Becki Cohn-Vargas and Debbie Zacarian, is a critical resource addressing educational inequity. The book integrates research with practical tools to support inclusive environments for diverse students. Emphasizing home-school collaboration, it offers strategies for fostering trust, empathy, autonomy, and resilience in classrooms.

Webinar: Multilingual Education in MA: Learning from the Past and Present to Empower Future Learners

On September 19th at 7 PM EDT, Citizens for Public Education’s Multilingual Education in MA will host a webinar titled “Learning from the Past and Present to Empower Future Learners.” This is the first of three virtual sessions exploring multilingual education in Massachusetts.  Register here. Panelists include Roger Rice, a lawyer …

Introducing Identity Safety at Home and School: Partnering to Overcome Inequities

Becki Cohn-Vargas and Debbie Zacarian The practice of identity safety is critical to educators’ ongoing quest to create spaces where every child feels welcomed, supported, and validated, and where they can embrace and celebrate their diverse social identities. Renowned social psychologists and educational scholars have heralded this transformative approach- which …

Interview on Bam Radio’s Principal Street: Transforming Schools for Multilingual Learners

How can we enhance how we teach multilingual learners using a strengths-based approach? It was an honor to listen to Grace Delgado from Aldine ISD discuss the steps that her district took and is taking to transform its practices based on Transforming Schools for Multilingual Learners. Listen to the interview …

Slow Down Seabiscuit

Gather a group of educators together and we find ourselves recounting the crazy life experiences that we routinely have going at full speed – regardless of what our role is. All my adventures came to a screeching halt in September when I had a total hip replacement (THR).  After years …