Highest Aspirations

Is the term “Long Term English Learners” limiting opportunities and academic achievement for this subgroup of students? How can we help these students by uncovering the “hidden curriculum” of language in lessons in order to scaffold support from input to output? What strategies can be used for a school-wide implementation of these practices that foster an environment where all multilingual learner...

How can we support or encourage reluctant colleagues to increase collaboration in order to support MLLs? How can we help educators unlearn the often negative perceptions of dreaded observations by administrators and fellow teachers so they can collaborate more effectively? Do schools that have effective collaborative practices in place retain more teachers? We discuss these questions and much more...

How can we give colleagues feedback in a way that is timely and actionable, and what impact can we expect when this is done effectively? What foundational elements to a working relationship must be present before feedback can be given and received? What kinds of information do principals and school leaders need to have and to share prior to beginning an observation and feedback cycle? We discuss t...

What are some benefits we have seen from the rise of virtual professional development opportunities since the pandemic? How can educators drive self-directed professional learning that can lead to deeper knowledge and sustained results? How can school leaders best support high-quality PD opportunities? This week we bring back two familiar contributors to Highest Aspirations - Dr. Carol Salva and T...

What are some common misconceptions about EL/SLIFE students and ESL instruction? How can professional development be leveraged to help educators support multilingual learners? What are some particularly effective instructional strategies for multilingual learners in mainstream classrooms? We discuss these questions and more in an impassioned discussion with Nebraska’s 2022 Teacher of the Year Lee...

How has family engagement evolved post-pandemic remote learning? Why has online professional learning had staying-power after schools reopened? What are some predictions for trends and changes in store for education in 2023? We’re concluding Season 9 of Highest Aspirations by reflecting on what has been a year full of learning how to best serve our students. We’ll also get into some predictions fo...

This interview is episode 9 from Season 9 of Highest Aspirations, a podcast from Ellevation where we engage in important conversations about the most rapidly growing student demographic in the United States - English Language Learners. What impacts have we seen on recent policy changes to reclassification or exiting of ELs with disabilities? How can schools prioritize collaboration and improve the...

What are the essential elements of success for learning communities to support immigrant students? How can incorporating storytelling into the classroom be used to build empathy and understanding for both students and educators? What are examples of innovative programs or collaborative approaches that are successfully improving outcomes for newcomers and immigrant students? We discuss these questi...

What challenges are teachers facing with the curriculum often provided by their district regarding multilingual learner instruction? What role do stakeholders such as content creators, educational leaders, and community advocates play in improving curriculum? Where are we already seeing positive changes in inclusive curriculum and how can we replicate them in other states and districts? We discuss...

What are some flawed perceptions of immigrant and refugee students and how can these impact the education they receive? What policies or district practices have been barriers to newcomer or immigrant students receiving the full extent of education promised to them by law? How is “moving students through” the education system without adequate support or learning such a major missed opportunity for...

What parameters do districts have for spending ARP ESSER funds, specifically relating to multilingual learners? How are some districts already using these funds to offer high impact supports for their language learners? What guidance can we offer educators who want to advocate for their district to include and even prioritize this population of students in their ESSER fund spending plans? We discu...

What does research show about the importance of literacy skills when solving math and specifically word problems? How can educators prioritize and build in academic conversations into their classroom routines? What can teachers do to marry math and language so that multilingual learners can engage with the content more deeply? We discuss these questions and much more with Diane Kue, an educational...

What are some positive outcomes from the uptick in Virtual PD that came out of the pandemic? How can administrators roll out professional development in a way that is both sustainable and sustained? In what ways can educators take an asset-based approach in how they speak about their students, specifically multilingual learners? We discuss these questions and much more with Leticia Trower. Leticia...

This interview is a bonus episode from Season 9 of Highest Aspirations, a podcast from Ellevation where we engage in important conversations about the most rapidly growing student demographic in the United States - English Language Learners. We got a chance to speak with Bryan Fernandez and Yerahm Hong, two recipients of the 2022 Ellevation Scholarship. Both of these students were enrolled in an E...

How can educators shift their practice from tearing down students for translanguaging or using “Spanglish” to building this up? How can tactics like co-teaching and professional learning opportunities be leveraged to support multilingual students and create more equitable classrooms? What can educators do to incorporate their students’ entire linguistic repertoire and validate their experiences in...

What are culture learning targets and why are they critical for creating non-oppressive learning environments? How can individual teachers lesson plan in a way that can disrupt the status quo of a monolingual centric approach to learning? How can educators support their multilingual learners in making cross-linguistic connections and fostering a practice of metalinguistic awareness? Welcome back t...

Why is it necessary to explicitly teach and foster listening skills, specifically for language learners? What tools and activities can be used to practice listening in a culturally responsive and engaging way for all students? What do authentic conversations and listening comprehension activities sound like, and how can educators more effectively encourage these in their students? Those topics and...

What are some of the biggest obstacles for multilingual learners in many widely used intelligence tests? How can assessments be altered to more accurately test thinking rather than language skills or content knowledge? As more students are identified as gifted and talented with more accurate testing, how can teachers begin to better support these students? We discuss these questions and much more...

What vital roles do social and cultural capital play in determining the opportunities available to new arrivals? How can peers be leveraged to help newcomers cross the we/them divide while growing academically? What does it mean for new arrivals to “cross the finish line” and what are a few key steps educators can take to help them get there? We discuss these questions and much more with Pamela Br...

How can concepts like “teacher identity” and “learning leader” transform how educators show up in the classroom? What is the difference between directive and generative scaffolding, and how can one be significantly more constructive for ELs? What roles can deep culture, identity, and instructional power play in crafting more equitable teaching styles? We discuss these questions and much more with...

How does the teaching outlined in his book 7 Steps to a Language Rich classroom help bridge the gap between research and practice? What outcomes or impact has John and his team seen on student performance in classrooms where the 7 steps methodology has been implemented? What would John say to educators who may be interested in trying the 7 Steps but may have lingering questions about the potential...

How can relationship building and interpersonal connection play a vital role in English learners developing a love of reading? What can educators do to encourage students to move outside of their comfort zone at school, especially when it comes to reading academic content? How can providing students with leadership opportunities enhance learning and inspire students to think in new ways? We discus...

What is the relationship between decoding and comprehension when reading, and why is it important for educators to prioritize both? Why are key literacy resources like school librarians or educational media specialists and classroom libraries growing scarce and what are the consequences? How can listeners begin to take steps on a micro and macro level to improve flawed education policies that are...

We are back with part two of our series exploring the challenges that US born children of immigrants. In part one of the series we spoke with sociologist, author and professor Dr. Joanna Dreby about the work she has done in this space. This week we hear from three undergraduate and graduate students who understand this experience firsthand and worked with Dr. Dreby on her research. These interview...

How are the challenges and experiences of English learners born in the US different than those who have recently arrived and why is so important for educators to understand them? In what ways does family members’ citizenship status and fear of deportation or separation affect these students? What kinds of social-emotional supports can educators leverage to help support these students in the classr...