The Effective Literacy Podcast Californians Together

Season 1 concludes with one final ‘Making Meaning’ episode—and there is plenty to process.
Meta is the word of the day as we think about the utility of meta-linguistic awareness and transfer as tools that empower students to take stock of their own language journeys.
Later, Victoria and Anna assess the assessment systems and dive deep into how they can better serve the needs of multilingual students. 

As a language learner herself, Alexandra Güílamo has spent more than twenty years serving a
wide range of language learner programs. Alexandra is a former teacher, academic coach,
elementary school principal, and district-level director in highly diverse urban and suburban
school districts. She is one of the leading dual-language experts, an author, and keynote
speaker, and the Chief Equity & Achievement Officer at TaJu Educational Solutions - a company
dedicated to professional development, coaching, & technical support for the educators,
leaders, and communities of dual language & bilingual programs.
 
1Resources
 
The Science of the Bilingual Reading Brain https://www.languagemagazine.com/2022/07/13/the-science-of-the-bilingual-reading-brain/

Coaching Teachers in Bilingual and Dual-Language Classrooms: A Responsive Cycle for Observation and Feedback https://www.solutiontree.com/coaching-teachers-bilingual-dual-language-classrooms.html

As a language learner herself, Alexandra Güílamo has spent more than twenty years serving a
wide range of language learner programs. Alexandra is a former teacher, academic coach,
elementary school principal, and district-level director in highly diverse urban and suburban
school districts. She is one of the leading dual-language experts, an author, and keynote
speaker, and the Chief Equity & Achievement Officer at TaJu Educational Solutions - a company
dedicated to professional development, coaching, & technical support for the educators,
leaders, and communities of dual language & bilingual programs.
 
Resources
The Science of the Bilingual Reading Brain https://www.languagemagazine.com/2022/07/13/the-science-of-the-bilingual-reading-brain/

Coaching Teachers in Bilingual and Dual-Language Classrooms: A Responsive Cycle for Observation and Feedback https://www.solutiontree.com/coaching-teachers-bilingual-dual-language-classrooms.html

Nicole Knight is the Executive Director of the English Language Learner and Multilingual Achievement Office at Oakland Unified School District.
She is honored to have served Oakland students for the last 24 years as a teacher, teacher leader and instructional leader at the site and district levels.
A National Board Certified Teacher in English as a New Language, Nicole has expertise in language and literacy development of multilingual learners, professional development for teachers and leaders, and equity-centered systems of continuous improvement.
She is also the mother of two bicultural and bilingual children, both students in Oakland public schools.
 
Resources
 
OUSD Roadmap to ELL Achievement, 2021-24 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Osl0ySTl-djnGXj_LnjS5q254nPKlgZO/view?usp=sharing 
OUSD Language and Literacy Framework, TK-5 https://docs.google.com/document/d/10lcL9PItdYsdd8TBjlf42P2rKf-SwSfImHHpVr-N2Mg/edit 
OUSD Language and Literacy Framework, HS https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Be9qyGYVplAwc8jzA-0HzKJP2NCvgO-8caMFlb5eKyg/edit
 

In this making meaning episode, we’re diving into how our time with Dr. Susana Johnson, David Rogers, and Cristina Sánchez-López. 
We discuss how to acknowledge and build on students’ home language experiences and create rich classroom experiences that focus on strong oral language skills. 
We also discuss what it means to teach students to be literate and what to do with that literacy.

Cristina Sánchez-López collaborates with educators in the US and Canada on many issues related to the education of Multilingual Learners (MLs) including developing culturally and linguistically sustaining Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS); bilingual special education; middle school mathematics; curriculum development; literacy across the content areas; parent engagement, and supporting Early Childhood educators who serve young Dual Language learners (DLLs).
Cristina has taught at the elementary, middle school and university levels in the US and Mexico.
She currently teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in multilingual education.
Cristina is co-author a number of publications including: Oxford University Press series Concepts for the Language Classroom Series: Focus on Special Educational Needs (2018); Special Education Considerations for Multilingual Learners: Delivering a continuum of services, 3rd edition (Brookes Publishing, 2023); Welcoming Bilingual Learners with Disabilities into Dual Language Programs (CAL, 2022); and an upcoming chapter entitled Collaborating at the Bilingual Special Education Interface in ¡Qué BUENO!  A History of the BUENO Center and its Legacy
 
Resources
National Committee for Effective Literacy  https://multilingualliteracy.org/
Center for Literacy Education https://iei.nd.edu/initiatives/notre-dame-center-for-literacy-education/news/identity-texts 
Unite for Literacy https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/ 
Mt Language Resources http://www.mylanguage.ca/resources.html 
Welcoming Bilingual Learners with Disabilities into Dual Language Programs https://www.cal.org/publications/welcoming-bilingual-learners-with-disabilities-into-dual-language-programs/