Connection, Purpose, Progress- MCS-BSU Innovation Summit

Building on our previous professional learning, this interactive session moves beyond individual strategies to explore how teachers can intentionally design grade-level instruction that supports multilingual learners without lowering expectations. Participants will examine the language demands embedded in everyday classroom tasks and learn how to distinguish between content gaps and language barriers. Through authentic classroom examples, teachers will practice aligning content and language objectives, selecting scaffolds based on student proficiency and task demands, and differentiating language support while maintaining rigorous learning goals. The session will also focus on moving students from supported speaking and writing toward greater independence by intentionally fading scaffolds over time. Teachers will apply the process to an upcoming lesson, assignment, or constructed-response task and leave with a practical plan for implementation. The goal is not simply to add more strategies, but to develop a thoughtful, sustainable approach to helping multilingual learners access, engage with, and independently demonstrate grade-level learning.

Building on our previous professional learning, this interactive session moves beyond individual strategies to explore how teachers can intentionally design grade-level instruction that supports multilingual learners without lowering expectations. Participants will examine the language demands embedded in everyday classroom tasks and learn how to distinguish between content gaps and language barriers. Through authentic classroom examples, teachers will practice aligning content and language objectives, selecting scaffolds based on student proficiency and task demands, and differentiating language support while maintaining rigorous learning goals. The session will also focus on moving students from supported speaking and writing toward greater independence by intentionally fading scaffolds over time. Teachers will apply the process to an upcoming lesson, assignment, or constructed-response task and leave with a practical plan for implementation. The goal is not simply to add more strategies, but to develop a thoughtful, sustainable approach to helping multilingual learners access, engage with, and independently demonstrate grade-level learning.

Led by Erin Bousman