Leading Multilingual Learning

This week's guest is the incredible educator, author and speaker Andrea Bitner. A true champion for kids, Bitner has 26 years of experience in public education. In her career she has instructed K–12 students from around the world, and today she serves as an English Language Learner educator in Philadelphia. She is the author of two books sharing powerful stories about EL students and educators: Ta...

Today's guest Yasmin Hernandez-Manno is a nationally recognized education leader and advocate with more than three decades of experience serving multilingual learners and advancing educational equity. A towering Garden State educational figure, she's held senior leadership roles with the New Jersey Department of Education, Newark Public Schools, and Montclair Public Schools, and is the founder of...

Our guest Dr. Merica Clinkenbeard serves as President of the National Association of English Learner Program Administrators  and as Secretary for MidTESOL. She is the Director of English Language Development for Springfield Public Schools in Missouri, where she leads district initiatives focused on instructional quality, compliance, and professional learning to support multilingual learners. With...

Today we are delighted to welcome Dalila Mendoza and Megan Fernando from Taunton Public Schools in Massachusetts.    Dalila and Megan aren't just podcast guests - we've been lucky enough to work alongside them. Taunton Public Schools was one of Medley's earliest district partners, so while this conversation may be biased by how much Brandon admires their work, it's also grounded in collaboration,...

Today's guest Okhee  Lee is a professor and Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. She is a committed research, policy, and practice advocate who promotes STEM and language learning for all students, particularly multilingual learners. Lee was a member of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) writin...

Host Brandon Cardet-Hernandez speaks with Mariana Castro, the interim Director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, Co-Director of the Multilingual Learning Research Center, and a curriculum designer and instructor for The Discussion Project at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She began her career working with students with significant disabilities, before going on to coordinate bil...

Today's guest is a monumental figure in the world of multilingual standards and assessment. Dr. Margo Gottlieb is an inaugural inductee in the Multilingual Education Hall of Fame, a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Chile and holds a PhD in Public Policy Analysis. Dr. Gottlieb has over 125 publications and has authored or co-authored 25 books, including seven bestsellers. Perhaps most impactfully, she c...

Today's guest Molly Hegwood is the Executive Director of the Office of English Learners at Metro Nashville Public Schools. A former classroom teacher in Knox County and Nashville, she now oversees services for 24,000 multilingual learners speaking 135 languages across her district, and has led the shift from traditional professional development to embedded coaching models.   Under her leadership,...

Dr. Tim Boals is one of the most important voices in multilingual education. He is the founder of WIDA, a preeminent educational organization supporting K-12 multilingual learners through research-based language development language, development standards and professional resources.  Dr. Boals holds a PhD in Curriculum from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with an emphasis in the education of...

Kathy Escamilla is one of America's foundational voices in multilingual education. A professor emerita at the University of Colorado Boulder, she helped define the concept of the Bilingual Continuum, reshaping how educators understand language development in multilingual learners. She is best known for her work across the field of biliteracy development. In her decades-long career she has deeply i...