By Debbie Zacarian We all know the importance of family engagement. Whether we work with two parents, a single parent, foster parent, grandparent, stepparent, custodial parent, extrafamilial member, and others, we understand that every family constellation is essential to children’s development. While we might believe strongly in family engagement, we …
When Alina was 11 years old, she moved to the United States from Irpin, Ukraine with her mother and younger brother to live with distant relatives. The Russian invasion resulted in their witnessing the destruction of their city and the death of family members. As Alina enrolls in school, we learn …
Interested in learning more about practices for supporting students living with adversity? Listen in as Dr. Jobi Lawrence and Dr. Debbie Zacarian discuss the topic of teaching to empower and share a call to action to foster student agency, self-confidence, and collaboration. This episode of ASSETS is part of a …
Please join this free webinar hosted by the National Association of English Learner Program Administrators and sponsored by TransAct on Thursday, Jan 19, 2023, 4:00 — 5:30 PM EST. Register here! Are you seeking support in building, strengthening, and sustaining effective language assistance programming for multilingual learners? This webinar will …
It was an honor to be interviewed by Peter Dewitt, host of the Leaders Coaching Leaders podcast about the second edition of Transforming Schools for Multilingual Learners: A comprehensive guide for educators. During the podcast, Peter asks about the reasons for writing a new edition and using a strengths-based approach. …
Available for Pre-Purchase! Essential principles, practices, and structures for multilingual learners A lot has changed in the ten years since this book was first published. This celebrated triumph provided state, district, school, and teacher leaders with a comprehensive guide to support multilingual learners to reach their full potential. The key messages that …
TESOL Press just released two new publications. Social-Emotional Learning for English Learners [SEL] (Zacarian, 2022) and the Essentials for Engaging Families of English Learners (Zacarian, 2022). These two zip guides are the first of their kind for TESOL Press. Each includes six 8.5×11 laminated folded panels that distill key principles …
Tan Huynh is a highly regarded teacher of multilingual learners. His popular podcast, Teaching MLs provides the opportunity to listen to the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of the most current leaders in the field. I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Tan about Beyond Crises: Overcoming Linguistic and Cultural …
By Debbie Zacarian and Becki Cohn-Vargas As one school year ends and we plan for the next, we see the glaring inequities that the pandemic has amplified, and we recognize that steps must be taken to address them. Beyond adopting new guidelines for hygiene and reducing our schools’ exposure to …
This Q&A with editor Dan Alpert and co-authors Debbie Zacarian and Diane Staehr Fenner first appeared in languagemagazine.com on January 22, 2020. That piece is titled From Deficit-Based to Assets-Based: Breaking Down the Wall One Essential Shift at a Time and is based on the first chapter of the best selling …
by Debbie Zacarian
This short video describes the rationale for using a strengths-based approach to support students living with adversity and includes three classroom-based strategies. The video originally appeared as part of a project for ASCD on “Trauma-Informed Practices”.
The Power of Strengths in the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria
