Webinar: Beyond Crises: With Secondary Multilingual Learners

Crises can happen with no warning or with certainty. The epic numbers of multilingual learners experiencing these phenomena is as diverse as are the types of language programs, instructional practices, and schoolwide policies they are provided. Our ever-changing educational landscape often evokes uncertainty as to how to work with these students …

Debbie Zacarian Interviewed by Houston ISDs Sharpstown High School Stories Project

“Debbie Zacarian sat down with us to talk about how we can better serve English Learners in our latest episode of #ThinkPareShare. Guess what? Deficiency plans are a thing of the past! Teaching to strengths and being culturally and linguistically responsive are paths to a better future. How do we change …

Identifying and teaching English learners with disabilities

The nation’s #1 website serving educators and families of English Learners, Colorín Colorado, with generous funding from the National Education Association, produced a new section about identifying, assessing, and teaching English learners who may have learning disabilities. Colorín Colorado’s new website section includes four comprehensive sections including:  (1) special education and ELs: challenges …

Launching the Just-Right Tools for English Learners

Many are using social networking to get word out that the US Departments of Education and Justice released guidance and tools about the legal obligations of teaching English learners. Last month, the US Department of Education released an English Learner Toolkit to help state and local education agencies help English Learners (ELs) by fulfilling these obligations. The …

English Learners Living with Trauma, Violence, and Chronic Stress

The film, Spare Parts, was released last month. It’s based on the true story (and book) about 4 undocumented Latino high school students who formed a robotics team that beat MIT engineering students in a contest. Their personal stories as well as the more recent questions, responses and comments heard at President’s Obama’s …