Leading Multilingual Learning

Medley Learning

Exploring the leadership, ideas, and insights shaping better education for multilingual learners. Powered By Medley Learning.

Episodes

  1. Resources vs. Tools with Dr. Merica Clinkenbeard

    3 days ago

    Resources vs. Tools with Dr. Merica Clinkenbeard

    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 more than 25 years of experience in education at the local and state levels, she is a certified K-12 Spanish and TESOL educator whose work centers on strengthening professional learning systems that promote language development within content instruction. A link to the Seven Steps framework reference in this episode can be found here.

    29 min
  2. Access Without Compromise with Dalila Mendoza & Megan Fernando

    14 Jun

    Access Without Compromise with Dalila Mendoza & Megan Fernando

    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, shared learning, and a deep appreciation for what they're building.   Dalila Mendoza is an educational leader with more than two decades of experience supporting students, teachers, and multilingual communities. She currently serves as Director of Multilingual Programs and Director of Title I in Taunton Public Schools. Throughout her career, she has worked as a teacher, literacy coach, assistant principal, adjunct professor, and instructor supporting educators across Massachusetts. As the daughter of Portuguese immigrants and an English learner herself, her personal journey navigating school while learning English has deeply shaped her passion for multilingual education and advocacy. Her colleague Megan Fernando has dedicated more than two decades to Taunton Public Schools and currently serves as the Instructional Coach at Martin Middle School. Born and raised in Taunton to Portuguese immigrant parents, she is a first‑generation American with deep roots in the community she now supports. Throughout her career in Taunton, Megan has served as a 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teacher, a math coach, and now an instructional coach, a role that allows her to support educators, strengthen instructional systems, and advocate for all students.

    47 min

  3. 7 Jun

    Research, Policy & Practice with Okhee Lee

    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) writing team and served as leader for the NGSS Diversity and Equity Team. She also was a member of the Steering Committee for the Understanding Language Initiative at Stanford University. Her important work involves integrating science, language, and computational thinking with a focus on multilingual learners.

    49 min
  4. Technology Beyond Translation with Mariana Castro

    31 May

    Technology Beyond Translation with Mariana Castro

    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 bilingual programs in Madison. After 15 years in schools, Mariana joined WIDA in 2006, where she led professional learning, standards development and evaluation initiatives. With more than 35 years in education, she brings a deep commitment to multilingual learners, teacher development, and social justice to her research and practice.

    49 min
  5. Pioneering Assessment with Dr. Margo Gottlieb

    24 May

    Pioneering Assessment with Dr. Margo Gottlieb

    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 co-founded WIDA and was instrumental in developing the first published edition of their English language development standards.

    42 min
  6. A New Generation of Service Models with Molly Hegwood

    20 May

    A New Generation of Service Models with Molly Hegwood

    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, Metro Nashville Public Schools has expanded service models to meet the needs of one of the fastest-growing English Learner populations in the American Southeast. Her pragmatic approach and steadfast commitment to forging partnerships within her diverse community have garnered impressive results, and have made her a leader among multilingual learning advocates nationwide.

    42 min
  7. Advancing Language through Content with Dr. Tim Boals

    17 Apr

    Advancing Language through Content with Dr. Tim Boals

    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 multilingual learners. At WIDA, Tim currently serves as senior principal investigator, helping multilingual education professionals and learners alike better understand the most crucial areas of focus.

    34 min
  8. Building Multilingual Foundations with Kathy Escamilla

    11 Apr

    Building Multilingual Foundations with Kathy Escamilla

    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 influenced how schools nationwide approach both instruction and assessment, and has pushed the field into asset-based practices that build on students' full linguistic repertoires.

    38 min
  • 8 Episodes

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Exploring the leadership, ideas, and insights shaping better education for multilingual learners. Powered By Medley Learning.

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