Stay ConnectedOn the Highest Aspirations Podcast, we engage in important conversations about the most rapidly growing student demographic in the United States – English Language Learners. We speak with educators and students, researchers and policy makers, and parents and community members about how we can help all students reach their highest aspirations.
Join us on this important journey as we bring the vibrant ELL Community together around the topics that matter most to the students we serve.
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 away.
During the episode, we mention the 2021 Ellevation Scholarship - if you are interested in the application, visit this page to learn more and apply.
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 Schools.
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 away.
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 resources, strategies and tips from that you can use right away.
During the episode, we mention the 2021 Ellevation Scholarship - if you are interested in the application, visit this page to learn more and apply.
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, the Dual Language Program, and the World Languages Programs. In addition, her team is responsible for district Interpretations/Translations. She works collaboratively with the community to ensure non-English speaking families receive support and information through the International Welcome Center. Mrs. Saldala holds a Master of Science in Reading Education, a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, certification in Principal Leadership, and an endorsement in English for Speakers of Other Languages. Mrs. Saldala was recognized as the 2016 Latino Administrator of the Year by the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) for her commitment to Latino students and the community in addition to various local recognitions.
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 away.
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 math teacher, Education Development Center Project Director, and extensively supports new and pre-service teachers through the Boston Teacher Residency program. In an interview posted on their website, Grace addresses a familiar setting in our classrooms: “English Learners come into our classrooms expected to learn mathematics, which is new to them, in a language that is new to them, in a culture that is new to them.” Today, you will walk away with routines that support these learners. In fact, these routines will provide a structure for all of your students to get down to the business of discussing, defending, communicating, connecting and reflecting on the learning of mathematics.
Most recently, Amy Lucenta served as a secondary mathematics Clinical Teacher Educator for the Boston Teacher Residency Program. Her experience spans K-12, teaching both middle and high school, then extending into elementary as a math coach. Her passion for helping struggling learners focus on developing the standards for mathematical practice is evident in the book and in our conversation, where she continues to explore how to develop mathematical thinkers through establishing routines that lead to success.
Ellevation is committed to keeping you informed and inspired with resources to help you support your English learners. If haven't done so already, we invite you to join the ELL Community here.
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 has served as an urban high school math teacher, Education Development Center Project Director, and extensively supports new and pre-service teachers through the Boston Teacher Residency program. In an interview posted on their website, Grace addresses a familiar setting in our classrooms: “English Learners come into our classrooms expected to learn mathematics, which is new to them, in a language that is new to them, in a culture that is new to them.” Today, you will walk away with routines that support these learners. In fact, these routines will provide a structure for all of your students to get down to the business of discussing, defending, communicating, connecting and reflecting on the learning of mathematics.
Most recently, Amy Lucenta served as a secondary mathematics Clinical Teacher Educator for the Boston Teacher Residency Program. Her experience spans K-12, teaching both middle and high school, then extending into elementary as a math coach. Her passion for helping struggling learners focus on developing the standards for mathematical practice is evident in the book and in our conversation, where she continues to explore how to develop mathematical thinkers through establishing routines that lead to success.
Ellevation is committed to keeping you informed and inspired with resources to help you support your English learners. Join the ELL Community here.
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 Education, a Master of Education in Reading, and a Doctorate of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a Specialization in Bilingual Studies. She is a Texas certified Reading Specialist, Master Reading Teacher, and Principal. She taught for sixteen years at the elementary, secondary, and post secondary level. In 2016 she was named the Texas Association for Bilingual Education Secondary ESL Teacher of the Year. She is also a published author in the NABE Journal of Research and Practice. She has served on numerous committees at the state level to address the needs of English learners and currently serves on the Texas Education Agency Assessment Educator Advisory Committee.
As you’ll hear in our conversation, Dr. Lopez is a fierce advocate for bilingual education in a region that has struggled with a fixed mindset on English only programs - something which she sees as part of a larger issue she refers to as “la herida abierta”, or the “open wound”, which she believes educators can help to heal.
Ellevation is committed to keeping you informed and inspired with resources to help you support your English learners. If you’d like access to more information and resources, join the ELL Community here - it's free!
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. Ellevation is committed to keeping you informed and inspired with resources to help you support your English learners. If you’d like access to more information and resources, join the ELL Community here - it's free!
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 simply being a valued citizen that sets a positive example for others.
Steven is also works with a team of teachers that encourages sharing ideas and expertise to best serve their students. He is an active participant in his math team’s professional learning community where he helps create lessons that not only teach math concepts, but also seek to inspire student engagement and learning.
As you’ll hear in our interview, Steven is passionate about helping his students succeed, honest about the challenges he and his colleagues are facing and proactive about putting his students' needs front and center.
Ellevation is committed to keeping you informed and inspired with resources to help you support your English learners. If you’d like access to more information and resources, join the ELL Community here - it's free!
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.
You can follow Katie on Twitter at @gardnerkb1 and/or email her email at gardnerkb@rss.k12.nc.us. Also check out her Edutopia article, Using Technology to Support Young English Language Learners in a Hybrid Classroom.
Ellevation is committed to keeping you informed and inspired with resources to help you support your English learners. If you’d like access to more information and resources, join the ELL Community here - it's free!
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
