Anne Paonessa, ConnectED Classrooms/National Louis University

Discover practical, research-aligned strategies that elevate ML voice through purposeful connection. Explore strategies in three categories including Partner Talk, Synthesis Tasks and Reflective Pauses. Review a planning template to adapt these tools for your grade level or content area.

Anne Paonessa, ConnectED Classrooms/National Louis University

Explore how service-learning extends and elevates ML learning beyond the classroom through authentic tasks that build language and confidence. Explore examples such as mini projects, community partnerships and virtual exchanges. Attendees leave with a project planning template.

Daisy Skelly, Parkway Schools

Explore an engaging, culturally affirming curriculum that helps MLs develop their English literacy skills by writing their own immigration stories. Examine instructional strategies that honor students’ lived experiences while building academic vocabulary, narrative structure and language proficiency. Discover practical lesson sequences, scaffolds for diverse proficiency levels and examples of student-centered activities that encourage expressive, meaningful writing. Gain ready-to-use tools, prompts and frameworks to create a safe and supportive environment where students can share their journeys, strengthen their writing skills and see their identities reflected in the classroom.

Reah Morabith, Heart of Missouri RPDC

This interactive session will explore why traditional checks for understanding often fail and how intentional question framing dramatically increases student engagement, language production and depth of thinking.

Amanda Borodin, Ferguson-Florissant School District

Step into your students' shoes to bridge the language gap. Integrating years of classroom experience, explore how empathy fuels engagement. Gain practical strategies to support high school MLs in mastering complex science content through collaboration and connection.

Rachel Emanuel-Prude and Meghan Schultz, Parkway Schools

Numberless word problems provide a powerful way to support elementary MLs by shifting the focus from computation to comprehension, language development and mathematical reasoning. Explore how removing numbers from word problems creates space for students to make sense of context, discuss relationships and engage in meaningful mathematical discourse before solving the problem.

Genevieve Caffrey, Schema Curriculum & Consulting

Explore the P.O.W.E.R. Framework, a research-based yet practical tool for designing equitable learning experiences across curriculum and instruction. Learn how to use five guiding dimensions to evaluate curricular resources and engage in a hands-on activity to sort and label materials as part of a mock unit design. The process demonstrates how applying The P.O.W.E.R. Framework can affirm student identities, create belonging, strengthen content comprehension and build agency, particularly for MLs and students from historically marginalized communities.

Lonni Long, Lincoln County R-III School District

Project Based Learning can be scary for ML students because it requires so much language use.  However, it can be fun and rewarding for students and it will help develop their skills for the future.  Explore options for using Canva AI and other digital options to help develop writing skills.

Kelly Heidt, Francis Howell School District

Help students practice their speaking in a low(er) stress way through Speaking Journals. Speaking Journals are a practice and engaging speaking activity that allow individual students to practice a variety of different speaking skills at their level with equal participation across a class. Explore a variety of different types of prompts, reflection strategies and feedback that help students improve their speaking skills over time.

Ryan Rumpf, Global Educators

Explore strategies and structures designed to provide a soft landing to recently-arrived students and their families. Review intake process through the first 30-90 days of school. Engage with tools that reduce the language barrier and accelerate the sense of belonging and attachment to their new community.

Merica Clinkenbeard, Springfield Public Schools

How do effective program leaders adapt when everything shifts: policies, personnel, budgets or student needs? Explore a grounded and practical approach to leading ELD programs during times of uncertainty, transition or disruption. Whether you’re starting from scratch or trying to sustain a well-established initiative, learn research-backed strategies to lead with clarity, resilience and impact. Gain actionable tools and a renewed sense of purpose to guide your teams and programs forward.

Christina Mendoza and Jillian Baldwin Kim, Lindbergh Schools

This newcomer education collaborative session will explore shifting demographics, experience a refugee journey simulation and gain hands‑on, asset‑based strategies, including math, to build inclusive school communities. Gain impactful lesson plans with next day application.

Stacey Kastner, Francis Howell School District

Have you ever suspected a multilingual learner may have a learning disability, but do not know where to go next? Does your team have a clear process in place to guide teams? Learn about critical data pieces that must be considered for MLs. Once the data is collected and organized, the team will have a clear picture on next steps. Using this method will help answer the question: language acquisition or language disability?

Daisy Skelly, Parkway Schools

Learn how to use AI tools to design quick and effective formative assessments. Explore simple prompting techniques that generate exit tickets, comprehension checks and differentiated tasks in minutes. Learn how to refine AI outputs to match learning objectives and support multilingual learners and discover strategies for checking the accuracy and appropriateness of AI-generated assessments. Gain ready-to-use prompts and examples they can implement immediately.

Stacey Kastner, Francis Howell School District

In 2026 and beyond, educators have powerful opportunities to design learning experiences that meet the diverse strengths and needs of all students. Learn practical, ready-to-use strategies that help proactively remove learning barriers while maintaining high expectations for every learner. Explore efficient, effective scaffolding techniques that support student success without adding hours of planning and prep.

Lauren Rea Preston, Hazelwood School District

When and how do we measure reading for MLs? Learn to use diagnostic tools like phonics screeners, maze, ORF and spelling, plus family interviews to catch literacy problems in grades 4-12. Practice administering these tools and analyze data to distinguish language gaps from foundational needs.

Sonya Murray-Darden, EducationPlus

Learn to shift data meetings from identifying struggling students to strengthening core instruction for all learners. Using the SERVE framework and Tier 1 Data Review Protocol, practice analyzing student work for misconceptions and connecting insights to instructional adjustments. Gain actionable strategies to implement weekly data cycles that improve whole-class teaching.