As educators, we know the importance of supporting students like Yorleni in feeling safe, having a sense of belonging, value, and competence. In addition, we want to boost their confidence in speaking up for themselves and for others. These actions are especially essential for the large number of school-age children who have experienced identity-related adverse childhood experiences. All too often, our concern for students who have experienced adversity may prevent us from recognizing—or, more importantly, helping students recognize—their strengths. It is not that we should avoid being empathetic and compassionate. Rather, we should pay equal—if not greater—attention to the strengths students possess naturally and to those they have developed while navigating identity-related adversity. Viewing our practice through an empowerment lens helps students become autonomous learners—students who recognize their strengths, make informed decisions, and advocate for themselves and others (Steele and Cohn-Vargas, 2013; Zacarian and Silverstone, 2020).

What is an Autonomous Learner?

Figure 1 highlights characteristics commonly associated with empowered learners. While it is not a complete list, it provides some traits we expect students to demonstrate—particularly when we reduce our authority to amplify their voices and choices in our classrooms. Take a moment to consider the attributes of empowered students you know and add three characteristics to the list.

Figure 1. Descriptors of an Empowered Student (adapted from Zacarian & Silverstone, 2020, p. 11).

adaptable	nonjudgemental	responsible
collaborative	observant	self-controlled
creative	respectful	validating
compassionate	reflective	wise
determined	resilient	witty

Let’s look at Yorleni’s first weeks of school as we consider the descriptors of an empowered student.

During the first weeks of school, Yorleni rarely volunteered to speak. During a phone call with her parents, her fourth-grade teacher acknowledged Yorleni’s lack of participation in class discussions and asked for her parents’ help encouraging Yorleni to speak. “What is a subject that Yorleni enjoys in school?” he asked. They responded that math was her favorite subject. “What are some special qualities that Yorleni possesses?” In response, they described her as imaginative, artistic, and someone who loved to draw. They added that Yorleni had many friends in Nicaragua and was very social before her brother died. Additionally, they said that she treasured her teachers’ encouragement and proudly shared these experiences with her parents. They added that Yorleni often volunteered to help others, including an older neighbor.

With information about Yorleni’s many assets and strengths, her teacher and parents brainstormed ideas to motivate her to participate in class. Here are some of the strategies that Yorleni’s teacher used:

After modeling math word problems, Yorleni’s teacher split the class into small groups and asked each group to create word problems. He encouraged them to use their artistic skills to write these and provided them with colored pencils and paper. Yorleni crafted a word problem on a piece of drawing paper and moved it to the center of her small group’s table. As peers read Yorleni’s creation, they added some suggestions. Her teacher observed Yorleni smiling with her peers, sketching revisions suggested by her peers, and nodding in agreement with the final word problems they created for the whole class.

As this occurred, her teacher commented positively on students’ interactions, including Yorleni’s. After class, he also told Yorleni privately how happy he was to see her ideas. He said, “Yorleni, it’s great to see your suggestions. You have so much to share!” Her teacher’s reward was Yorleni’s response: “Thank you, I am trying hard.” He responded, “Trying hard is an important quality; it shows your determination.” During the week, her teacher saw Yorleni helping a classmate in math class. “Yorleni,” he said to her, “you are a great collaborator.”

A few weeks later, Yorleni’s teacher contacted her parents. He shared that Yorleni was speaking in class independently and noted how much he appreciated their help in supporting Yorleni in doing so. He also promised to stay in touch to let them know how Yorleni was doing and ensure she was feeling comfortable at school.

Take a moment to think about Yorleni, her parents, and her teacher.

• Draw from some of the attributes that you believe Yorleni demonstrated.
• Write two sentences that detail what Yorleni did to be an empowered learner.
• Refer to the list and add three new attributes to it.

In the previous reflection, we noted that Yorleni was creative in designing a word problem, collaborative with her peers, and observant of her peers. You may have discovered additional attributes, as there are many. Empowered students exhibit many characteristics. These include knowing and attending to the rules and regulations of their classrooms and schools, attending to the diversity found within and beyond their classroom contexts, being socially responsible, adapting to change, and being collaborative (Zacarian and Silverstone, 2020, p. 20).

The Role of Assertiveness and Receptiveness in Being an Empowered Learner

Empowered learners balance assertiveness with receptiveness. They know when to contribute their own ideas and when to listen carefully to others. Consider a student who bosses everyone around and refuses to listen. The student needs to learn to pay attention to others’ ideas, thoughts, and more. Conversely, a student who listens but never volunteers a response needs support in becoming more assertive. Each requires our support to balance the scales of the student’s assertiveness and receptiveness toward others.

Figure 2. Skills of Receptiveness and Assertiveness ( Adapted from Zacarian & Silverstone, 2020, pp. 127-128).

An important feature of resilience is the development of assertiveness and receptiveness skills. Consider Yorleni. Her teacher established the conditions needed for Yorleni to support her peers in creating math word problems. For Yorleni to do this successfully, she had to adapt to a new learning environment and demonstrate a balance of assertiveness and receptiveness.

Let’s look at an example of an interaction that Yorleni had with a classmate, Sarah.

In this exchange, Yorleni demonstrated that she heard what Sarah said by affirming her peer. She also extended the interaction by asserting a suggestion. All students need to develop empowerment skills by feeling safe in their identities. Figures 1 and 2 provide some of the language we need to support empowerment. Additionally, resilience requires adaptability and flexibility. Consider the adaptations and flexibility that all multilingual learners must make to move from one place to another, learn a new language and grade-level subject matter, make new friends, and much more.

Supporting Courageous Resilience When Facing Barriers to Inclusion

Resilience also involves navigating powerful and persistent challenges such as stereotyping, discrimination, bullying, and exclusion while drawing upon an internal reservoir of strengths to cope and grow. This internal reservoir is essential. It is built from the qualities one possesses inherently or has developed in response to stressful experiences.

Supporting multilingual learners to feel and be identity-safe requires understanding the many barriers that far too many face. Here is an example of an exchange that Yorleni’s parents had with her teacher:

Yorleni’s parents informed her teacher that during recess, a boy called their daughter a beaner and laughed any time she made a mistake speaking English. Yorleni’s teacher listened attentively. He assured her parents that racial name-calling was unacceptable. He also promised her parents that he would find out about the bullying and take action to ensure it ended.

This example (and many more) calls for us to acknowledge the barriers multilingual learners and their families are experiencing. It requires us to address these in ways that help them feel respected and included and that allow everyone to see their capacity to cope (Zacarian and Silverstone, 2020). Additionally, it calls for educators’ unwavering commitment to creating a caring, safe classroom and helping students recognize and expand their internal strengths.

We should never expect students to face bullying on their own in the name of building resilience. We must intentionally create an environment where they trust their teachers to care for them and ensure their safety in the classroom and at school. At the same time, we must foster this type of caring environment among all students. Students can learn to be upstanders who speak up and stand up for themselves and others in safe ways (Steele and Cohn-Vargas, 2013).

Here are some steps that Yorleni’s teacher took to support Yorleni (and her classmates) in feeling safe; having a sense of belonging, value, and competence; and speaking up for themselves and others.

Yorleni’s teacher built a positive relationship with her, her peers, and her parents. He did this by conferring with Yorleni’s parents to support their child’s identity safety. He developed norms for classroom interactions to ensure that students treated one another respectfully and did not tease or bully each other. His instruction focused on learning about each other’s backgrounds, being empathetic, and building intercultural understanding.

He explained why calling people names that insult their race or ethnicity or other things about them is hurtful and not permissible. He taught students to speak up when they or a classmate was being bullied. He provided response models, such as “Your teasing and comments are mean and untrue. Please stop,” and supported students in creating their own responses. He also supported students in seeking help from a trusted adult when needed. Additionally, he met privately with the student who was teasing Yorleni. He explained that calling someone a beaner is hurtful and unacceptable, and could not continue.

Consider the steps that Yorleni’s teacher took. What steps did the teacher take to:

• Support Yorleni in feeling identity safe?
• Support all students’ identity safety?
• Support the classmate who called Yorleni a derogatory name?
• What two or three steps would you take to support identity safety?

Ultimately, when educators create positive relationships with students, they can strengthen a student’s resilience and empower them to speak up for themselves or inform an adult when they are excluded or bullied. Educators can also do this while creating learning opportunities for all students and avoiding labeling any student a bully.

Strategies for Building Empowerment, Agency, and Resilience Through Parent–School Partnerships

Families and educators can provide invaluable opportunities for students to develop and strengthen their empowerment efforts. There are many activities that we can do together. Three examples include the following:

• Routinely share with parents and guardians what students are doing well in school. Just as Yorleni’s teacher took the time to meet with her parents to learn about her strengths and brainstorm ways to bolster them, he also contacted them to share what was going well.
• Observe and learn how the student is feeling at school and find out what is happening inside and outside the classroom. When a student is experiencing exclusion, bullying, or feeling unsafe, meet with the student to build trust and take action to resolve the situation without making the student feel singled out or embarrassed. Also, help parents and guardians support their children in treating one another respectfully and in learning to be upstanders.
• Hold student-led conferences to empower students to share their learning. These can bolster students’ empowerment as K–12 learners. Conferences can occur in person, online synchronously, or through computer-mediated formats, such as a video recording that parents and guardians can view. Strategies for holding student-led conferences include:
  • Scheduling conferences with students and their parents or guardians.
  • Preparing students to create a portfolio of their work, plan what they would like to share during the meeting, and brainstorm responses to questions parents and guardians are likely to ask.
  • Helping students identify what is going well by completing sentence prompts such as: A sample of my classwork is… It is an excellent example of… and Things that are going well in [name of subject] are…

Empowerment and resilience grow when multilingual learners experience identity safety, have opportunities to exercise their voices and choices, and are supported in recognizing and drawing upon their strengths. Educators and families play an essential role in creating these conditions. Together, they can help students develop the confidence, agency, and resilience to navigate challenges, contribute to their communities, and thrive in school and beyond.

References

Cohn-Vargas, B., and Zacarian, D. (2024). Identity-Safe Spaces at Home and School: Partnering to Overcome Inequity. Corwin Press.

Steele, D. M., and Cohn-Vargas, B. (2013). Identity-Safe Classrooms Grades K–5: Places to Belong and Learn. Corwin.

Zacarian, D., and Silverstone, M. A. (2020). Teaching to Empower: Taking Action to Foster Student Agency, Self-Confidence, and Collaboration. Corwin Press.

Dr. Debbie Zacarian is a leading expert in supporting MLs and students facing adversity. With over 30 years of experience, she provides research-based keynotes and consulting. She has authored numerous professional books on creating inclusive, strengths-based environments where students feel valued, connected, and empowered to flourish in school and in their lives.

Dr. Becki Cohn-Vargas, a scholar in identity safety, has a rich and varied career spanning over 35 years as a Spanish-bilingual teacher, principal, and superintendent in diverse pre-K–12 settings. She’s co-authored four books, written extensively on identity-safe teaching, produced films, and consulted with schools nationwide. beckicohnvargas.com

This article originally appeared in Language Magazine (August 2025). It is drawn from Cohn-Vargas and Zacarian (2024), Identity-Safe Spaces at Home and School: Partnering to Overcome Inequity.

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