Debbie Zacarian and Becki Cohn-Vargas Yorleni is a fourth grader who moved to New York from Nicaragua. At enrollment, her parents express concern about Yorleni feeling comfortable in school. They share that her brother’s recent death from cancer has affected Yorleni deeply, and that she has become much quieter. They …
I am excited to announce the launch of Elevating Strengths: Supporting Multilingual Learners Facing Adversity, a comprehensive self-paced online course designed for educators and professionals supporting multilingual learners impacted by trauma, violence, or chronic stress. This 10-hour course employs a strengths-based approach and provides practical, research-backed strategies to apply immediately to enhance …
Many multilingual learners (MLs) and their families face significant challenges and barriers that highlight the profound impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on vulnerable students. Failing to recognize the adversities that our MLs and their families are experiencing can limit our ability to support them effectively. Even with knowledge, we …
I recently read a thought-provoking article in Fast Company titled “Emotional Intelligence Is So 2020.” It opens with a powerful statement: “…people are starving to be seen, acknowledged, and witnessed.” The article features a business survey on empathy conducted by Ernst & Young LLP, revealing that 86% of employees believe …
Do you have questions about the laws and regulations for educating multilingual learners? The new resource, Serving Multilingual Learners: Laws, Policies, and Regulations (2025), is here to help! It provides a clear and accessible summary of federal laws, including ten common compliance issues highlighted in the 2015 Dear Colleague Letter …
Debbie Zacarian and Becki Cohn-Vargas When Francisco Lopez was twelve, he and his parents moved from Santiago, Brazil, to a small town in Massachusetts, where his father began working as a Portuguese professor at a university. Accompanied by his parents, Francisco enrolled in a local middle school, where his father …
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. …
“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.
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 …
For many of us, the first weeks of school are filled with tension. For me, the close of the summer months always meant calming the butterflies that signaled the beginning of a new school year. However, the fears that many multilingual learners [MLs] experience differ greatly from what I experienced …
