Highest Aspirations

How are languages inextricably connected to other aspects of society and what does that mean about preserving and valuing them? What strategies can educators of multilingual students use to incentivize their students to help keep their home languages thriving - even while they are drawn to use English as the language of record? How have globalization, technology, and emotional connections all played a vital role in preserving and valuing languages? We discuss these questions and much more with K. David Harrison, Professor of Linguistics & Cognitive Science at Swarthmore College and National Geographic Society Explorer. David Harrison is a linguist, author and advocate for the documentation and revitalization of endangered languages. He is currently serving as Associate Provost for Academic Programs and Professor of Linguistics at Swarthmore College. Since 2007, Harrison has been affiliated with the National Geographic Society, co-directing their Enduring Voices Project and providing cultural expertise for

How can we combat an “English-only” approach in education and what is the importance of calling out cross linguistic connections for English learners? What is “metabilingual awareness” and how does it inform how we understand and develop language? How should equity be considered, both for students enrolling in dual language programs and in the recruiting and retaining of multilingual educators? We discuss these questions and much more with Dr. Sonia Soltero. Dr. Soltero is Professor and Chair of the Department of Leadership, Language, and Curriculum, and former Director of the Bilingual-Bicultural Education Graduate Program at DePaul University in Chicago. Soltero has numerous publications on bilingual education, English Learners, and Latino Education having been involved with dual/bilingual education for more than thirty years as a dual language teacher, university professor, professional developer, and researcher. Soltero has extensive background in design and implementation of dual language and bilingual p

What unique challenges and opportunities do parent-driven mentor programs pose for EL students and families? How can schools and districts create mission aligned programs that support ongoing goals while offering new opportunities? What existing district programs and community partnerships can schools tap into in order to create a more robust and sustainable parent outreach program? We discuss these questions and more with Francisco Meza and Elba Solis of Whittier Union High School District in Southern California. With the help of other educators, parents and community members in their district, Francisco Meza and Elba Solis have created a successful parent mentor program that helps families of English learners become more involved with helping the district achieve their goals while simultaneously providing them with valuable learning opportunities. As you’ll hear in the interview, the program has provided great value for all who have been involved...and it is replicable in other districts who are trying to d

How does “toxic stress” for students in the intersection of immigration and education manifest itself, and what are the long term effects it can have if not addressed? What are the most pressing concerns that educators have about their English learners as a result of the pandemic and what do they need to support them? How can educators, policy makers and community organizations contribute to an environment that allows English learners and their families to thrive in an academic setting? We dig into these questions and more with our guest, Rosario Quiroz Villarreal. Rosario Quiroz Villarreal is a policy entrepreneur at Next100 focused on increasing educational equity for immigrant students and students of color, including by removing the systemic barriers their families face when seeking opportunity. She has written numerous articles centering and celebrating the lived experience of immigrants and advocating for policy solutions to challenges. Among other projects, she has worked with a diverse coalition of im

What tools can we provide teachers to help make their instruction as efficient and effective as possible - particularly as we transition between remote, hybrid and in person settings? How can we give quality formative assessments in a virtual, hybrid and in person settings to gauge student progress, especially for ELs? What strategies for front-loading academic vocabulary and building opportunities for student agency will best support and engage our English learners? We discuss these topics and more with Ellevation’s own Pamela Burgreen. Pam was a high school math teacher in New York City and Long Island for 10 years. After leaving the classroom, Pam worked on middle and high school math curriculum and assessments before starting with Ellevation in early 2020. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Pam brings multiple perspectives into the conversation around English learners and math.  During the episode, we mention that Highest Aspirations will be featuring teacher shout-outs submitted by listeners from n

What effects do we see on educators from the second-hand trauma that they experience in the classroom? How can teachers best support their students to share their lived experiences and how can teachers respond when they do? Are there ways that the responses to trauma that immigrant children face can inform our response to the trauma students and teachers experienced during the pandemic? We discuss these questions and more with Dr. Edith Treviño, known by her colleagues as Dr. ET. Dr. ET served as a bilingual and ESL specialist for Region One in Edinburg TX for two years. Her time at Region One was spent empowering 37 districts, universities, and charter schools in sheltered instruction, educational technology,ESL, Bilingual, and innovation for all teachers and students. Dr. ET has empowered educators at the local, state, and national level. Dr. ET is co-author to “The Death of My Mexican Name" published by Rethinking Bilingual Education. Dr. ET’s research is focused on Teacher perceptions of Mexican Immigrant

What data can be used to measure learning loss in English learners, and what long term impacts are most pressing? How is tech being used to accelerate learning for ELs and empower students to continue their learning outside of class? How can building out a robust STEM program motivate students to develop foundational skills? We discuss these questions and more with Dr. Adrian Johnson, Superintendent of Schools in Hearne ISD in Texas. Dr. Johnson is regular contributor to Ellevation’s ELL Community. He has appeared on the In This Together docuseries as well as other episodes of Highest Aspirations. Dr. Johnson brings the important perspective of how rural school districts are working to best support their English learners. You can find additional resources and episode takeaways on our ELL Community page at ellevationeducation.com/ellcommunity. If you haven’t done so already, we invite you to join our ELL Community while you’re there so you get weekly resources, strategies and tips from that you can use right a

What family engagement strategies are most effective in linguistically diverse communities? How might we empower families and siblings to help support EL student outcomes? How might recent policy changes impact schools with significant refugee or immigrant populations and inform the future of education? We discuss these questions and more with Julie Allen, current Principal/CEO of the International Community School. She has worked in education, specifically serving low-income and historically oppressed communities, across Metro Atlanta for oven ten years. Ms. Allen believes that all students deserve an education that will allow them to live choice-filled lives, and she is committed to leading this charge in her current role. You can read her full bio in the blog version of this episode. As you’ll hear in the episode, there is a lot we can learn from schools like International Community. You can find episode takeaways and links to resources on our ELL Community page at ellevationeducation.com/ellcommunity. If

How can the challenges that teachers continue to face in remote classrooms lead to positive changes - particularly when it comes to facilitating discussions and practicing language? How can teachers set their English learners up for success, both with accessing academic vocabulary and creating lower-stakes entry points of participation for students? What tools, lessons and takeaways from this year will be key in informing instruction and addressing where students are when we are back in the classroom? We discuss these questions and much more in our conversation with Kristian Lindsey, a middle school math teacher and interventionist who works with a linguistically diverse group of students at Lively Middle School in Austin, TX, a city she has called home for almost 30 years. You can find additional resources and episode takeaways on our ELL Community page at ellevationeducation.com/ellcommunity. If you haven’t done so already, we invite you to join our ELL Community while you’re there so you get weekly resourc

What steps can we take to strategically support English learners through learning loss while also prioritizing social and emotional well-being? What approach can districts take with professional development to support educators in identifying learning loss and teaching language development in this environment? How can schools use this experience with distance and remote learning to reimagine in-person learning in the fall? We discuss these questions and much more with Vicky Saldala, Director of the Bilingual /ESOL Department for Broward County Public Schools in Florida.  Victoria B. Saldala is a veteran educator with 32 years of extensive experience developing, executing and supporting academic programs to meet the diverse needs of language learners. In her current position as the Director of the Bilingual/ESOL Department for Broward County Public Schools, Mrs. Saldala is directly responsible for coordinating all curriculum and compliance support for the English for Speakers of Other Languages Program, t

What strategies can educators use in remote environments to increase learning capacity and promote student agency? What similarities and differences can we draw between what a language rich classroom looks and sounds like in-person versus virtually? How can routines support teachers and students when we transition back to in-person settings and begin to address “unfinished learning”? We discuss these questions and more in part two of our two-part series with Grace Kelemanik and Amy Lucenta, co-founders of Fostering Math Practices and authors of the book Routines for Reasoning.  We brought Grace and Amy back to Highest Aspirations to talk about how things have changed since we talked in January, 2020 - just before the pandemic. Grace Kelemanik comes to us with more than 30 years of mathematics education experience. As a frequent presenter at national conferences, she meets and continues to support countless math educators on their journey as thinking facilitators. She has served as an urban high school ma

How can incorporating routines into remote learning reduce stress and uncertainty for students while also supporting language development and discourse? What are some strategies that provide English learners with opportunities to develop mathematical thinking in remote and hybrid learning environments? How has the unfinished learning caused by the pandemic shifted teachers’ mindsets, and what COVID Silver Linings have surfaced? We discuss these questions and more in part 1 of our 2 part series with Grace Kelemanik and Amy Lucenta, co-founders of Fostering Math Practices and authors of the book Routines for Reasoning. We brought Grace and Amy back to Highest Aspirations to talk about how things have changed since we talked in January, 2020 - just before the pandemic. Grace Kelemanik comes to us with more than 30 years of mathematics education experience. As a frequent presenter at national conferences, she meets and continues to support countless math educators on their journey as thinking facilitators. She ha

How are educators reaching English Learners and bilingual students in a border district during a pandemic, both in addressing immediate needs for support and in looking ahead at the impact of learning loss on the future of instruction? What techniques can educators use to identify different types of bilingual learners and evaluate the effectiveness of their program and instruction? How might we transform the subtractive model of schooling that is rooted in generations of an “English only” mentality to celebrate bilingualism and encourage students to take pride in their native dialect? We discuss these questions and much more with Dr. Carolina Lopez. Carolina Lopez is in her twentieth year in education and is a Bilingual and ESL Strategist at Weslaco ISD, located in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas .  Prior to serving as the Bilingual and ESL Strategist, she served as the Secondary English Language Arts & Reading Strategist.  She has a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with a minor in Bilingual

How can districts, schools and educators identify and mitigate areas of Covid related learning loss among English learners? What is the role of professional learning in helping educators support English learners in content and language instruction as we trend toward more widespread in person learning? How can we be prepared to meet individual students where they are given the widespread disruption caused by the pandemic? We discuss these questions and much more with Lynmara Colón. Lynn has been a frequent contributor to Highest Aspirations as well as the In This Together docuseries. She has led Prince William County’s efforts to continue serving their English learners through the changes caused by the pandemic.  These students represent 124 countries and 149 languages. In this conversation, we talk about her team’s efforts to address learning loss among their most vulnerable students. Ellevation is committed to keeping you informed and inspired with resources to help you support your English learners. If

What strategies can we use to help students overcome the significant challenges associated with learning in a remote environment? How can we implement tried and true strategies like sentence stems, anchors of support, choral reading and others to help strengthen English learners academic language skills? How might teachers use newly acquired skills to help strengthen EL instruction as we transition back to school? We discuss these questions and more with Steven Mendoza. Steven teaches 7th grade mathematics at Burnet Middle School in Austin, Texas, where he was selected as Teacher of the Year in 2018. 70% of students at Burnet are English learners and 95% are economically disadvantaged, which was one of the reasons Steven decided to work there. A common theme in Steven’s classroom is “Be Respectful and Do Your Best”. He instills this mantra in his students and points to these traits as necessary to the success of their future endeavors, whether this means going to college, contributing to the workforce, or sim

What can we learn from educators who have worked with English learners in hybrid learning models from the beginning of the pandemic? How can we use free built-in accessibility tools on devices to personalize learning for students? What are some simple strategies and tools we can implement to incorporate speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in both synchronous and asynchronous lessons? We discuss these questions and much more with Katie Gardner Katie is an Elementary English as a Second Language Teacher in Salisbury, North Carolina. She is an Apple Distinguished Educator, PBS Digital Innovator, LEGO Master Educator, National Geographic Certified Educator, Writereader / Seesaw / Buncee Ambassador and a National Board Certified Teacher in English as a New Language. She has a passion for creating blended learning lessons to engage early learners and support second language acquisition. Katie has been a featured presenter or workshop leader at National early learning, technology, and ESL conferences. Yo

How can we go about converting top down approaches to professional learning to more relevant and engaging teacher centered sessions? What is the EdCamp model and how can it help structure professional learning opportunities to support teachers working with diverse groups of learnings? How can establishing relationships with community organizations help  schools better serve their students and staff? We discuss these questions and much more with Betsy Pegler, Administrator of Special Programs in the Rio School District in Southern California. Pegler began teaching in 2007 in a neighboring district; one she had attended as a school-age child. She taught sixth, fifth, first, second, and fourth grade. By 2012, she was an administrator for expanded learning, after school programs, and supplemental educational services. Pegler also began her affiliation with Computer Using Educators (CUE, Inc) at this time and continues to serve as Director-at-Large for Gold Coast CUE, Ventura County CUE affiliate, as well as

How many times have you heard the expression “take an asset based approach to EL education”? We’ve certainly used the term on many occasions here on Highest Aspirations.  But what does it really mean and what might we learn from school leaders working in Clarkston, GA - a community that has been called “the most diverse mile in America” and “the Ellis Island of the South”? How does a “radical approach” to family and community engagement enhance outcomes for students in diverse communities? We discuss these questions and much more in our conversation with Assistant Principal Babatunji Ifarinu and Principal Stephanie Brown-Bryant from Indian Creek Elementary School in Clarkston, Georgia - a highly diverse community just outside of Atlanta.  As always, we are committed to keeping you informed and inspired with resources to help you support your English learners. If you’d like to find more information or contribute to this series, go to ellevationeducation.com/ellcommunity. You can subscribe to Highest

How might we make math instruction more equitable for all students? Why is it so important for educators to recognize how their biases and beliefs affect their ability to deliver equitable instruction to English learners? How might we infuse language and culture into existing curriculum so they are a part of content instruction rather than a separate element? We discuss these questions and much more with Rachel Ruffalo, Malane Morales-Van Hecke and José Franco, who all played important roles in developing A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction, which provides resources and guidance to support Black, LatinX and Multilingual students. The Pathway offers guidance and resources for educators to use now as they plan their curriculum, while also offering opportunities for ongoing self-reflection as they seek to develop an anti-racist math practice. The toolkit “strides” serve as multiple on-ramps for educators as they navigate the individual and collective journey from equity to anti-racism. Rachel Ruffalo is the

This episode is the culmination of our “In This Together” docuseries, where we follow 5 EL program directors from around the country to explore the challenges they face and how they’re overcoming them. Listen as our 5 panelists discuss how they are supporting their English learners in remote, hybrid and face to settings, what they are planning for the second half of the school year, how they are taking advantage of silver linings they’ve uncovered along the way and more. As always, we are committed to keeping you informed and inspired with resources to help you support your English learners. If you’d like to find more information or contribute to this series, check out our ELL Community page at ellevationeducation.com/ellcommunity. Remember you can subscribe to Highest Aspirations wherever you listen to podcasts so you know when new episodes are released. Also please consider leaving us a review on Apple podcasts - this helps us get the word out about this free resource for educators. --- Send in a voice m