Season 1 concludes with one final ‘Making Meaning’ episode—and there is plenty to process. Meta is the word of the day as we think about the utility of meta-linguistic awareness and transfer as tools that empower students to take stock of their own language journeys. Later, Victoria and Anna assess the assessment systems and dive deep into how they can better serve the needs of multilingual students.  ..read more

As a language learner herself, Alexandra Güílamo has spent more than twenty years serving a wide range of language learner programs. Alexandra is a former teacher, academic coach, elementary school principal, and district-level director in highly diverse urban and suburban school districts. She is one of the leading dual-language experts, an author, and keynote speaker, and the Chief Equity & Achievement Officer at TaJu Educational Solutions - a company dedicated to professional development, coaching, & technical support for the educators, leaders, and communities of dual language & ..read more

As a language learner herself, Alexandra Güílamo has spent more than twenty years serving a wide range of language learner programs. Alexandra is a former teacher, academic coach, elementary school principal, and district-level director in highly diverse urban and suburban school districts. She is one of the leading dual-language experts, an author, and keynote speaker, and the Chief Equity & Achievement Officer at TaJu Educational Solutions - a company dedicated to professional development, coaching, & technical support for the educators, leaders, and communities of dual language & ..read more

Nicole Knight is the Executive Director of the English Language Learner and Multilingual Achievement Office at Oakland Unified School District. She is honored to have served Oakland students for the last 24 years as a teacher, teacher leader and instructional leader at the site and district levels. A National Board Certified Teacher in English as a New Language, Nicole has expertise in language and literacy development of multilingual learners, professional development for teachers and leaders, and equity-centered systems of continuous improvement. She is also the mother of two bicultural and ..read more

In this making meaning episode, we’re diving into how our time with Dr. Susana Johnson, David Rogers, and Cristina Sánchez-López.  We discuss how to acknowledge and build on students’ home language experiences and create rich classroom experiences that focus on strong oral language skills.  We also discuss what it means to teach students to be literate and what to do with that literacy ..read more

Cristina Sánchez-López collaborates with educators in the US and Canada on many issues related to the education of Multilingual Learners (MLs) including developing culturally and linguistically sustaining Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS); bilingual special education; middle school mathematics; curriculum development; literacy across the content areas; parent engagement, and supporting Early Childhood educators who serve young Dual Language learners (DLLs). Cristina has taught at the elementary, middle school and university levels in the US and Mexico. She currently teaches graduate and u ..read more

Dr. Socorro Herrera is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education at Kansas State University and directs the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy (CIMA). Her K-12 teaching experience includes an emphasis on literacy development and her research focuses on literacy opportunities with culturally and linguistically diverse students (CLD), reading strategies, and teacher preparation for diversity in the classroom. Her work also has appeared in journals such as the Bilingual Research Journal, Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, Journal of Resea ..read more

Dr. Slavick is one of the contributors to the National Committee for Effective Literacy’s White paper on Comprehensive Effective Literacy Policy and Instruction for English Learner/Emergent Bilingual Students. She currently serves as the director of professional development for the Literacy Squared program at the BUENO Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. She received her Master’s Degree in Bilingual Special Education and her Ph.D. in Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity. Prior to obtaining her Ph.D., Jody worked as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and district resource ..read more

David Rogers supports the work of Dual Language Education of New Mexico-DLeNM whose mission is to promote the effective design and implementation of dual language education (www.dlenm.org) in New Mexico, and beyond.      In his thirty-five years as an educator, David has served as an education volunteer and program coordinator in Peace Corps Paraguay, South America, a bilingual special education teacher in South Bronx, NY, and as a dual language classroom teacher, bilingual program coordinator, and school principal in the South Valley of Albuquerque.  In 1996 David and ..read more

Dr. Kathy Escamilla today. Dr. Escamilla a Professor Emeritus in the Equity, Bilingualism, & Biliteracy Division BUENO Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Colorado Boulder.   Additionally, she’s the author of numerous articles and books including Biliteracy From the Start: Literacy Squared In Action. She is specifically interested in issues related to the development of bilingualism and biliteracy in early elementary grades for this Spanish-speaking population.   Her recent research has also examined assessment practices and the impact of high-stakes testing o ..read more