Scaling Multilingual Literacy in New York Schools

It was fun writing this one! I often get asked “Who’s doing it well?” when it comes to supporting multilingual learners and it’s not an easy question to answer. In NY, here are some REALLY bright spots that give me hope. Every organization I interviewed and heard from is working smarter and in ways that center students and the research. There is so much more that can be done and nothing is perfect. But these folks GET IT and we should all be learning from them.

With all the NY test score headlines filling my feed, this is a welcome read. Kudos to my friend and ML expert Joanna Yip, Ph.D. 葉天恩 for sharing this timely and informative perspective, one that provides important context as we digest the results and consider what comes next.

NEW PARTNER HIGHLIGHT: William Penn School District From our first conversations with the team at William Penn School District, two things became clear: Supporting multilingual learners is a central instructional priority—not an intervention strategy. And technology adoption is thoughtful, purposeful, and grounded in what will help students and teachers most. That is the kind of partnership we believe in. We’re proud to begin a three-year partnership with William Penn School District to support multilingual learners in accessing rigorous, grade-level instruction. At Medley, we believe multilingual learners can do extraordinary things. Our job is not to make learning easier by lowering expectations. It is to make rigorous learning more accessible by giving students the right language supports, at the right time, within the instructional materials they are already expected to use. That work is strongest when it is done in community with educators who know their students deeply. We are grateful to the William Penn team for their trust, their clarity of purpose, and their commitment to building something meaningful together. As Superintendent Dr. Eric J. Becoats shared: “We’re excited to begin this three-year partnership with the innovative team at Medley Learning! Together we can expand access to rigorous, grade-level instruction for our multilingual learners. Medley provides students with targeted language supports directly within the digital texts and instructional materials they are already using. That is exactly the kind of support we want to provide—helping students engage more independently without lowering expectations. This partnership reflects our commitment to using technology intentionally and ensuring every student has the support needed to participate meaningfully in grade-level learning.” We believe opportunity gaps and achievement gaps can be closed when students are given meaningful access to excellent instruction—and when the adults around them refuse to confuse language development with a lack of ability. Welcome to the Medley community, William Penn. We are honored to build alongside you.

📣 Our Teaching in English in multilingual classrooms (#TEMC) course equips teachers with the skills and knowledge to support EAL learners to achieve reading and writing success. We offer face-to-face and remote options to accommodate all needs. 🗓️ Check out our website for course information and upcoming course dates! https://lnkd.in/gXmy3QKJ Some of our recent feedback includes: "Transformational course. Absolutely indispensable. Empowers me as a language and literacy leader. Extremely valuable to my role as vertical lead for English across school." 🎤 Teresa Thomas, GEMS New Millenium School (Dubai) "I loved this course, I feel I learnt so much both as a student and as a Tutor going forward. I really enjoyed it and feel it will have a great impact on my teaching. This is going to be so valuable to both me as a person who wants to improve their own teaching practices. I feel my students will also really benefit from the new ideas that I will bring with me." 🎤 Gareth Hall, North London Collegiate School (Singapore) "I think every teacher should be doing this course – it should be rolled out to training teachers. Having a deeper understanding of how language works can benefit everyone." 🎤 Tina Cooper, Guangdong Technion Affiliated International School (China) "This course will be of great value to our teachers and leaders, and will improve the rating of our school substantially if we can get it practiced in all classrooms. The central premise – how we construct meaning through language – is very important." 🎤 Sandra Trull, GEMS International School – Al Khail (Dubai) "This is so powerful across subjects and for holding everyone accountable with literacy. Loved this and learned so much! Extremely valuable to whole school, especially now as a tutor who can deliver the sessions. Looking forward to strengthening areas across the school with this focus on language." 🎤 Sara Aboussaad, GEMS Cambridge International School (Dubai) Lexis Education QATESOL QLD VicTESOL Yeronga State High School

As classrooms become increasingly multilingual, the need for educators who can support diverse learners continues to grow. UMass Global's new online Master of Arts in Bilingual Education prepares educators to lead with culturally responsive practices, advocate for multilingual learners, and create more inclusive learning environments. Designed for working professionals, the program combines flexibility with real-world application. Learn more about this exciting new program now.

"Multilingual learners bring rich linguistic and cultural assets to the classroom. English learners are not a uniform group, but come to schools with varied language experiences, strengths, and needs. Effective bilingual literacy instruction should build on their knowledge, languages, and the cultural resources students bring to the classroom." https://lnkd.in/eAn-vA2b

From Assessment to Transformation: Why We Need to Rethink the Purpose of Assessment Yesterday, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion on "From Assessment to Transformation" at our Choose Oxford event, "Explore New Trends in English Language Assessment, Discover the Oxford Test of English." The discussion followed two insightful presentations: "Assessment in Today's Era" by Chris Sheen and "Benchmarking English Proficiency for the ESL Project" by Assoc. Prof. Phương Hoàng Yến. Together, the sessions offered complementary perspectives on the evolving role of assessment. As demand for international study and workforce mobility continues to grow, learners increasingly need trusted evidence of their language proficiency and skills. At the same time, educational institutions face important decisions about selecting and using assessments that best support their goals, learners, and institutional capacity. The discussion brought together perspectives from policy, educational leadership, assessment practice, and international experience to explore a timely question: 🔎 How can assessment move beyond measurement and become a driver of meaningful educational improvement? Throughout the conversation, we touched on several important aspects of how assessment can support educational transformation: ✅ The evolving role of assessment in an era of AI, digital transformation, and increasing demands for global competencies. ✅ The importance of trust, recognition, and credibility in assessment, particularly as learners seek opportunities to study and work across borders. ✅ How assessment evidence can be translated into better teaching, learning, school improvement, and educational decision-making. ✅ The role assessment can play in supporting Vietnam's educational ambitions, including the vision of developing English as a second language in school contexts. One message resonated strongly across the panel: ⭐ We need to shift our mindset. We need to gradually move away from the pressure of achievement-driven practices and place greater emphasis on using assessment as a tool for improvement, reflection, and growth. When used thoughtfully, assessment does more than tell us where learners are today. It helps learners progress, supports teachers in refining their practice, enables institutions to make evidence-informed decisions, and ultimately contributes to meaningful educational transformation. Many thanks to our panelists and participants for an engaging and thought-provoking discussion. The conversation reinforced a simple but powerful idea: the true value of assessment lies not in the scores it generates, but in the actions and improvements it inspires.

For those of you who participated in last night's TRL National Book Study, Antonio A. Fierro referenced this article, and I thought it was worth sharing. The article, "Bridging WIDA and the Science of Reading in ESOL Programs," argues that while the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards provide a strong framework for developing academic language, they do not explicitly address foundational word recognition skills such as phonological awareness, phonics, and decoding. The authors contend that this creates a disconnect between WIDA-based ESOL programs and the growing number of state literacy initiatives grounded in the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy. They call for WIDA to incorporate these foundational literacy skills into its standards, proficiency-level descriptors, and assessments so that multilingual learners receive more comprehensive literacy support. If you'd like to read it for yourself, here's the article: https://lnkd.in/gxrTR2X2 Bridging WIDA and the Science of Reading in ESOL Programs I think it raises some important questions about how we can better align language development and foundational reading instruction for multilingual learners while ensuring they receive the support they need in both areas.

Language is more than communication. It can be a bridge to opportunity, identity, and belonging. UMass Global’s new online Master of Arts in Bilingual Education is designed to prepare educators and emerging leaders to better serve multilingual learners and their families while building the skills to lead meaningful change in schools and communities. Read the Q&A with Dr. Weina Chen to learn more about the program and the importance of advancing equity through bilingual education. #BilingualEducation #MultilingualLearners #Education #HigherEducation

Language is more than communication. It can be a bridge to opportunity, identity, and belonging. UMass Global’s new online Master of Arts in Bilingual Education is designed to prepare educators and emerging leaders to better serve multilingual learners and their families while building the skills to lead meaningful change in schools and communities. Read the Q&A with Dr. Weina Chen to learn more about the program and the importance of advancing equity through bilingual education. #BilingualEducation #MultilingualLearners #Education #HigherEducation