ASSETS

Episode Description In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence sits down with Dr. Diane August, nationally recognized researcher and expert in multilingual learner education, to discuss the critical role of academic language development in supporting student success. Drawing on decades of research and her work as a contributor to the 2014 Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guid...

In this episode of the Project ASSETS Podcast, Project Coordinator Lauren Wood reflects on the often unseen and underrecognized work of educators who support multilingual learners. Drawing from her firsthand experience working closely with EL/ML educators, Lauren shares insights into the dedication, sacrifice, and emotional labor that go into serving this student population.   This episode highlig...

In this episode of the Project ASSETS Podcast, we are joined by Dr. Andrea  Honigsfeld , a leading expert in multilingual education and co-teaching for English learners. Dr.  Honigsfeld  shares her insights on effective strategies to support multilingual learners, the importance of collaboration among educators, and how schools can create inclusive, language-rich learning environments.   Listeners...

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence is joined by Anya Hurwitz and Karen Salinas Ascencio for a thoughtful conversation centered on language development, literacy growth, and asset-based instruction for multilingual learners.   Together, they explore how language acquisition unfolds across proficiency levels and why a strengths-based approach is essential for supporting student...

In this episode, host Jobi Lawrence welcomes Rosmery Milczewski , Assistant Principal at Flushing International High School in New York City and a member of the International Network for Public Schools . Ros mery shares her journey from immigrating to the U.S. as a teenager from Colombia to becoming a leader in multilingual and immigrant-centered education.   Together, Jobi and Ros mery explore id...

n this episode, host Dr. Jobi Lawrence is joined by Chandler Miranda, an educator and advocate with extensive experience supporting newcomer students and families, to explore what it means to create sanctuary in schools. The conversation centers on the concept of radical welcome and the mindset shifts educators and school communities can adopt to move beyond surface-level inclusion toward intentio...

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast , host Dr. Jobi Lawrence sits down with Sam Finn , Director of Newcomer Policy and Practice at Californians Together and a leader with the California Newcomer Network (CANN) . Sam shares insights from his work supporting educators who serve immigrant and newcomer students, discussing how policy, research, and practice intersect to create more equitable learnin...

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, host Dr. Jobi Lawrence welcomes Sam Singer, founder of the Volunteer State Seal of Biliteracy (VSSB) and veteran educator. Sam shares her journey from teaching in New York City and Nashville to creating Tennessee's first Seal of Biliteracy program in 2015. She discusses the importance of biliteracy, how the Seal supports multilingual learners, and what it tak...

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence sits down with Lara Evangelista, Executive Director at Internationals Network for Public Schools. Lara is a passionate advocate for multilingual learners and newcomer education, with years of experience as a principal and district leader in New York City. They discuss what it takes to create welcoming, culturally responsive school environmen...

In this episode of The ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence welcomes back Montserrat Garibay, former Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) under the Biden-Harris administration.   Together, they explore the State Seal of Biliteracy and its impact in recognizing multilingual proficiency , as well as the role of programs like BESO in supporting and...

In this episode of the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Jobi Lawrence welcomes Arthur Chou, social entrepreneur, passionate advocate, and widely regarded as the "father" of the State Seal of Biliteracy. Arthur shares his journey, from launching national multilingual advocacy efforts to helping over 40 states establish their own seals. Learn how his work with Academic Learning Company, DualLanguageSchools.org,...

How do policy and practice work together to support English and multilingual learners in America's classrooms? In this episode, host Dr. Jobi Lawrence is joined by Dr. Megan Hopkins, professor at UC San Diego, and Dr. Hayley Weddle,  an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy at the University of Pittsburgh,  to discuss the evolving landscape of...

In this episode, we sit with Dr. Julie Sugarman, Associate Director for K-12 Education Research at the Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. Dr. Sugarman helps stakeholders make sense of the complex research and policy issues impacting English and multilingual learners. Together, we explore the rapidly changing policy landscape, the challenges facing schools...

Concluding our four-part series on student voice- A journey that's taken us through the transformative stories of young leaders who helped shape the Iowa Student Learning Institute and amplify the voices of multilingual learners. To close out the series, we welcome Dr. Byron Darnall, the co-lead of the Student Voice Initiative. Dr. Darnall has over two decades of experience in education. Follow al...

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes you to the third of an exceptional four-part series where we hear from the voices of our students. Dr. Lawrence sits down with former student Ian Coon, who served on the Iowa Student Learning Institute's ELL Leadership Team at the Iowa Department of Education. Follow along as Ian shares his unique perspective from unawareness and privilege to partnership...

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes you to the second of an exceptional four-part series where we hear from the voices of our students. Follow along as Dr. Lawrence sits down with former student Monica Figueroa, who served on the Iowa Student Learning Institute's ELL Leadership Team at the Iowa Department of Education. As a former English learner, she has firsthand experience navigating th...

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes you to the first of an exceptional four-part series where we hear from the voices of our students. Follow along as Dr. Lawrence sits down with former students who served on the Iowa Student Learning Institute's ELL Leadership Team at the Iowa Department of Education. Together, they share their mission to revolutionize Iowa's approach to education through...

This month on ASSETS, Dr. Lawrence welcomes Ernesto Mejia, a Dean of Students who epitomizes the American dream.  Follow along as Ernesto shares what it was like growing up with Mexican immigrant parents, his experience working with ELs in higher education, and how the American dream can look different for everyone. Learn more about how to help our students identify their passion and chase their A...

You don't want to miss this episode of ASSETS! This month, Dr. Lawrence welcomes a dear friend, retired Lieutenant Colonel Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch, a 20-year U.S. Army Veteran. Follow along as Lt. Col. Kickbusch shares her remarkable story of overcoming the challenges of poverty and being a daughter of immigrants, from discrimination and illiteracy to becoming rich in culture, tradition, value...

This time on ASSETS the podcast, we turn the spotlight inward with a very special "Meet the Host" episode. Our host and creator, Dr. Jobi Lawrence, shares the personal journey that led her to pursue a career in education, specifically with bilingual/multilingual learners. From early inspirations and challenges to the pivotal moments that shaped her career, this episode will give a deeper understan...

Back by popular demand, we welcome Dr. Nooshan Ashtari for a very special Part 2  episode on the ASSETS P odcast . Join us as we discuss questions and topics provided by our listeners and take a deeper dive into technology and language education research studies.    Dr. Ashtari is involved in virtual reality (VR) in teacher training, reading in Second Language Acquisition, accents and multilingual...

This month, Dr. Lawrence welcomes Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan to discuss universal screening and literacy best practices for English and ​ multilingual ​l earners. Dr. Cárdenas-Hagan is a bilingual speech and language pathologist, certified dyslexia specialist, certified academic language specialist, qualified instructor, and ​P resident of the Valley Speech Language and Learning Center in Brownsville...

This month on the ASSETS Podcast, Dr. Lawrence welcomes Mr. Steve Gill to discuss the identification of English l earners with disabilities /dually identified English learners . Listen in as Mr. Gill shares his journey from being a school psychologist in a district with a high EL population to creating the ELL Critical Data Process, used by over 21,000 educators across 2,000 districts in multiple...

This month on ASSETS, we welcome a special guest from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Monique Dixon.    Ms. Dixon was appointed in February 2021 by the Biden-Harris Administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy for the Office for Civil Rights . In this role, she manages the program's legal group, which develops policy guidance, fact sheets, regulations, and technical assistance ma...

This month, Dr. Lawrence welcomes the Deputy Secretary and Director for the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) at the U.S. Department of Education, Montserrat Garibay. Follow along as Ms. Garibay shares her journey from being an undocumented immigrant from Mexico City to becoming a U.S. citizen, National Board-Certified teacher, with a Master of Education from the University of Texas-Au...