This two-part podcast hosted by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) features Kristin Simonne — Education Program Specialist at OELA along with four exceptional African American and Afro-Latin educators: Jenniffer Saldaña Whyte, a Spanish Teacher at the Donoho School in Anniston Alabama; Dr. Alex Marrero the Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, the largest school district in Colorado; Lolita Ndabahagamye-Vieux, a Multilingual Specialist with Austin Independent School District; and Dr. Margarita Machado-Casas, a full Professor in the Dual Language and English Learner Education Department at the University of San Diego.
In part I of the podcast the panelists share the meaning of multilingualism for them, as Black educators; discuss what and who inspired them to become educators; reflect on what can be done better to retain multilingual educators and educators of color; and share their own experiences of incorporating cultural diversity of Black students and families into their practice.
In Part II of the podcast the panelists discuss some of the English and Multilingual resources that they can recommend; professional learning opportunities that they found effective to help them serve diverse student populations; provide suggestions on creating a welcoming environment that allows Black families to be active partners in their kids’ educational process; and offer advice for educators and multilingualism advocates.
In this podcast the terms “English learners” and “Multilingual learners” are used interchangeably and refer to the population of students defined as English learners in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended by Every Student Succeeds Act.