How can we enhance how we teach multilingual learners using a strengths-based approach? It was an honor to listen to Grace Delgado from Aldine ISD discuss the steps that her district took and is taking to transform its practices based on Transforming Schools for Multilingual Learners. Listen to the interview …
Educators are accustomed to moving at a relentless pace. Whether teaching, leading schools, writing, presenting, or supporting others, many of us become so focused on what comes next that we rarely slow down long enough to notice what our experiences are teaching us. The Journey Took Longer Than I Expected …
School superintendents, principals, teachers, specialists, support staff, and others are becoming much more aware of the epic number of students experiencing adversity in the form of trauma, violence, and chronic stress. However, many of us are not familiar with the steps that we should take to support our instructional programming. …
With the school year well underway, many of us want to modify the language education programming we are providing multilingual learners [MLs]. One reason we want to do this is to ensure that we are following state and federal guidelines to identify MLs and determine or strengthen the programming that’s …
Debbie Zacarian and Jennifer Love lay out the basis for transforming schools to welcome and include multilingual learners and their parents/guardians (Zacarian and Love, October 2023). During the past decade, interpreter and translator services have soared across public and public charter schools in the United States. A primary reason for …
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 …
It was an honor to be interviewed by Peter Dewitt, the Leaders Coaching Leaders host. This podcast focuses on 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. He …
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 …
