This two-part podcast hosted by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) discusses the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the experiences and academic achievement of English learners and post-pandemic support for English learners and their educators. The podcast features an exceptional panel of experts — Amaya Garcia, the Director of PreK–12 Research and Practice Education Policy Program, New America; Dr. Karen Thompson, an Associate Professor in the College of Education at Oregon State University; Dr. Kelsey Krausen the Director of the Strategic Resource Allocation and Systems Planning Team at WestEd; Dr. Megan Hopkins, an Associate Professor in the Department of Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego; and Samuel Klein, the Supervisor of The Office of English Learners in Arlington Public Schools in Virginia.
In Part II of the podcast, Dr. Kelsey Krausen reports on the use of ESSER funds and other fiscal considerations for English learner support; Dr. Megan Hopkins talks about the considerations for leadership that promote English learners’ equity in the post-pandemic context, and Sam Klein, will discuss Arlington Public Schools’ journey toward recovery from the COVID pandemic impact on English learners’ experiences and academic achievement.