Multilingual learners bring rich knowledge, creativity, and cultural insight to our classrooms. Grounded in research and real classroom experiences, this keynote explores how educators can affirm students’ home languages, embed meaningful language opportunities, and design instruction that supports both academic learning and language development, making language a bridge rather than a barrier.
United for Language Learners: A Shared Vision for Excellence and Success
Detailed Agenda
Thursday, May 7th
7:00-8:00am — Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:00-8:30am — Welcome & Introductions
8:30-9:30am — Keynote: Valentina Gonzalez
Developing Students’ Languages: A Shared Responsibility, A Bold Partnership
9:30-9:45am — Break
9:45-11:15am — Breakout Sessions
Breakout Room 1
Author Session – Valentina Gonzalez – Classroom Session – Instructional Strategies Every Teacher Can Use to Amplify Language & Increase Academic Learning
Every teacher with multilingual learners in their classroom is a language teacher, and daily instructional choices directly shape how students engage, participate, and learn.
Breakout Room 2
Leadership – Louise Baigelman – Empowering ELL Literacy Beyond Grade 3
How do we support and empower English Learners in grades 3-12? How can educators balance language development, literacy growth, and rigorous grade level standards for their EL students? This session will touch on the nuances and complexity that go into EL achievement in the upper grades, offering concrete and actionable approaches to strengthen foundational skills while also enabling access to the core curriculum.
Breakout Room 3
ELL Session – Ashley Bahr, Leah Dobbs-Black, and Janet Griffith – Huskies United: A Shared Vision for Language Learner Success
In this session, we will examine ways that Helena High School developed and implemented year long professional developments that benefited teachers and EL students. Each speaker will discuss their various roles in the process, which included involvement at the county, administrative, and classroom level. This could be a worthwhile presentation for EL teachers, school leaders, administrators, and district personnel.
Breakout Room 4
Classroom Session – Erika Turner – Beyond the Myth of Math as a Universal Language: Understanding the Linguistic Demands of Mathematics for English Learners
Many well-meaning educators subscribe to the myth that mathematics is a universal language—assuming that numbers alone remove linguistic barriers. In reality, English learners (ELs) must navigate complex academic language, discourse structures, and cultural contexts in order to access mathematical concepts. Participants will leave with practical, classroom-ready strategies for making math instruction more linguistically accessible, meaningful, and culturally responsive for English learners. The session will also address how educators can support and lead colleagues in rethinking math instruction to better serve multilingual learners across grade levels and content areas.
Participant goals:
- Examine research that challenges the “math as a universal language” misconception.
- Explore examples of how language and mathematics are deeply interconnected.
- Analyze the linguistic demands embedded in math instruction, problem-solving, and assessment.
- Consider how these demands can unintentionally limit ELs’ opportunities to demonstrate understanding.
Breakout Room 5
Leadership – Lari Valtierra, Tanya Crockett, Katie Harrison, and others – Small Beginnings, Statewide Impact: A Grassroots Network of Collaboration
In the complex landscape of English Language (EL) education, administrators often work in isolated silos. This session introduces the English Language Program Administrators of Alabama (ELPAA) model—a proven blueprint for building a thriving, cross-district network. Presenters will guide attendees through the lifecycle of a collaborative consortium, from the initial startup logistics to generating shared value through joint advocacy, shared professional development, and strategic networking.
11:15-12:30pm — Lunch
12:30-1:30pm — Featured Speaker: Elise White Diaz
Supporting English Learners from Trauma-Affected Backgrounds
Students who experience trauma often struggle academically and with language development (Wolpow et al., 2009). For culturally and linguistically diverse learners, trauma can be especially hard to identify. This session offers evidence-based, easy-to-use strategies proven to strengthen multilingual learners’ success.
1:30-1:45pm — Break
1:45-3:15pm — Breakout Sessions
Breakout Room 1
Leadership Sessions – Louise Baigelman – Empowering ELL Literacy Beyond Grade 3
How do we support and empower English Learners in grades 3-12? How can educators balance language development, literacy growth, and rigorous grade level standards for their EL students? This session will touch on the nuances and complexity that go into EL achievement in the upper grades, offering concrete and actionable approaches to strengthen foundational skills while also enabling access to the core curriculum.
Breakout Room 2
Classroom Session – Amy Rodriguez – Science of Reading for ELLs
This session focuses on understanding how language and literacy develop, how to leverage students’ existing language skills, and how to explicitly teach the five essential components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Participants will gain insight about how the science of reading research informs reading and language instruction for ELLs.
Key Components for Science of Reading for ELL K-5 teachers:
- Session will provide a deep dive into the research-backed principles of how students learn to read, including the five essential components and Scarborough’s Reading Rope
- Session will emphasize the importance of scaffolding instruction for ELLs, building on their existing language skills and providing targeted support to bridge gaps in English language proficiency
- Session will equip teachers with tools and strategies for assessing ELLs’ reading skills, identifying areas of need, and providing targeted interventions
- Session will emphasize the importance of creating a classroom environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and supportive of all learners, including those who are learning English
In essence, the Science of Reading provides a roadmap for ELL teachers to guide their students towards reading proficiency, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to address both foundational skills and language development, while also acknowledging the unique needs of English language learners. This session will equip educators with practical strategies to create language-rich classrooms that support English Language Learners (ELLs) in developing strong literacy skills and reaching their full academic potential through the Science of Reading framework.
Breakout Room 3
ELL Session – Shannon Williams – Decoding WIDA: Using Rubrics and Language Charts to Accelerate Student Growth
We know where our multilingual learners are—now, how do we get them to where they need to be? This session moves beyond simply “tracking” progress and focuses on the instructional levers that fast-track language acquisition. By decoding WIDA’s Language Charts and Scoring Rubrics, we will identify the specific linguistic catalysts that propel a student from one proficiency level to the next. Participants will use these tools as an engine for acceleration—designing high-challenge, high-support tasks that push students out of their comfort zones and into higher levels of English proficiency. Stop monitoring growth and start driving it.
Breakout Room 4
ELL Session – Erika Turner & Lea Atchison – The Besties Playlist: Tracks for Cultivating Community, Empowering Newcomers, and Impacting Teachers
Two long-time besties drop the ultimate playlist of strategies to tune in to student success. This session will showcase this dynamic duo’s chart-topping hits, including cultivating authentic community partnerships, empowering newcomers to find their voice, and impacting teachers through strategic professional development models that equip every teacher to reach multilingual learners. This session will hit the right notes for all educators, and attendees will walk away ready to remix these “favorite tracks” in their own schools to build inclusive, harmonious learning environments and help their classrooms thrive in tune with student needs.
Participant Goals:
By the end of this session, participants will…
- Examine student and school-wide needs, relational strengths, and existing assets in their own school and community contexts in order to identify opportunities to establish and strengthen networks that support student growth and belonging.
- Brainstorm to recognize and leverage the assets and strengths of newcomer students in their own schools to design instruction that promotes engagement, confidence, and academic success.
- Design or adapt professional learning experiences that empower all educators—regardless of role or content area—to effectively support multilingual learners within inclusive, community-centered learning environments.
Breakout Room 5
Leadership Session – Tonay Littlejohn, Cindy Cox, and Leah Dobbs-Black – Building Bridges for Effective Instruction
What do classroom and special area teachers know about the WIDA English Language Development Standards? What do ESL teachers know about content standards? Are ALL of these teachers collaborating and building bridges to maximize the effectiveness of instruction for growth in academic and language proficiency? How do schools continue to demonstrate high levels of growth and an increased number of proficient students year after year?
The answer to these questions is – Building Bridges between ALL teachers through collaboration for symbiosis and mutual benefit. In this session participants will learn about the ongoing work of PLCs in a high incident EL school to correlate content and English Langage Development standards in a shared curriclum map. The outcome has led to the shoring up of the instructional foundation of the school leading ALL teachers to understand how they are meeting ELD Standards while teaching content and vice versa. Subsequently, they are recognizing collaboratively, the role and relationship they play in the development of academic language and content mastery. As a result, English Learners (and all students) are experiencing, demonstrating, and sustaining increased proficiency academically and linguistically.
This session will be beneficial to administrators, teachers, and academic coaches.
Friday, May 8th
7:00-8:00am — Registration & Grab and Go Breakfast
8:00-8:30am — Welcome and Introductions
8:30-9:30am — Keynote: Dr. Carol Salva
Supporting Language Learners in These Challenging Times
English learners face unique challenges as do their teachers. Educators are currently dealing with these issues and the added uncertainty of what the future holds for our immigrant students and their families. This talk will offer examples of how we can approach these issues and how all teachers can best include language learners in practical ways.
9:30-9:45am — Break
9:45-11:15am — Breakout Sessions
Breakout Room 1
Author/Classroom Session – Dr. Carol Salva – Practical ELL Strategies that Boost Achievement for All
Many of us know that ELL strategies are beneficial for all students. But what strategies are content teachers actually adopting? Come hear about practical, ready to implement techniques that are popular with K-12 classroom educators. Join us to walk away with resources your content teachers can use immediately.
Breakout Room 2
Leadership Session – Multiple: Lari Valtierra, Nancy Blanco, Mollie Applegate – Leading for Literacy: An Instructional Leader's Guide to Driving Measurable Writing Growth
Instructional leaders play a critical role in advancing writing achievement and academic language development across K–12. This session equips leaders with tools to drive measurable growth by working backwards from WIDA ACCESS Writing results and retired test items to student work and writing lesson plans. Participants will identify commonalities across WIDA’s revised ACCESS scoring expectations, Alabama’s 2020 ELA Course of Study, and ACAP requirements. Through analysis of WIDA Language Charts and model writing lessons, leaders will explore strategies to support teachers in accelerating academic language development and improving student writing outcomes. Attendees will leave with actionable steps to strengthen instruction.
Breakout Room 3
ELL Session – Emily Duley and Erin Baxter – Identify, Combine, Pace: A guide to combining resources to create a cohesive EL Literacy curriculum
In this presentation, the presenters will share the key resources, strategies, and layouts they used to weave neuroscience-informed design and systematic phonics into vocabulary, reading, and writing lessons that fortify the literacy curriculum development for middle and high school ML students. This presentation aims to empower educators with effective collaborative strategies and tools to boost literacy and language development among secondary multilingual, newcomer, and below-grade-level reading students. Additionally, we highlight the use of evidence-based insights into brain function, social-emotional growth, and language acquisition to enhance teacher lesson development and enrich the student learning experience.
Breakout Room 4
Classroom Teacher Session – Amy Rodriquez – Science of Reading for ELLs
This session focuses on understanding how language and literacy develop, how to leverage students’ existing language skills, and how to explicitly teach the five essential components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Participants will gain insight about how the science of reading research informs reading and language instruction for ELLs.
Key Components for Science of Reading for ELL K-5 teachers:
- Session will provide a deep dive into the research-backed principles of how students learn to read, including the five essential components and Scarborough’s Reading Rope
- Session will emphasize the importance of scaffolding instruction for ELLs, building on their existing language skills and providing targeted support to bridge gaps in English language proficiency
- Session will equip teachers with tools and strategies for assessing ELLs’ reading skills, identifying areas of need, and providing targeted interventions
- Session will emphasize the importance of creating a classroom environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and supportive of all learners, including those who are learning English
In essence, the Science of Reading provides a roadmap for ELL teachers to guide their students towards reading proficiency, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to address both foundational skills and language development, while also acknowledging the unique needs of English language learners. This session will equip educators with practical strategies to create language-rich classrooms that support English Language Learners (ELLs) in developing strong literacy skills and reaching their full academic potential through the Science of Reading framework.
Breakout Room 5
ELL Session – Ashley Bahr, Leah Dobbs-Black, and Janet Griffith – Huskies United: A Shared Vision for Language Learner Success
In this session, we will examine ways that Helena High School developed and implemented yearlong professional developments that benefited teachers and EL students. Each speaker will discuss their various roles in the process, which included involvement at the county, administrative, and classroom level. This could be a worthwhile presentation for EL teachers, school leaders, administrators, and district personnel.
11:15-12:30pm — Lunch and Speaker: Dr. Alli Phelps
Cultivating Wellness While Cultivating Language
Exploring the powerful connection between supporting students’ language development and strengthening your own resilience as an educator. Grounded in research-based wellness strategies, you’ll discover practical ways to manage stress, stay balanced, and sustain your energy. Leave not just informed, but recharged and equipped with tools to return to your work with clarity, purpose, and a renewed sense of calm.