Programs for School and District Leaders

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Facilitating Multilingual Learner Success Through Leadership

After over a decade of collaboration with schools and districts across the country, Bridges has developed a program to support leaders in designing schools with effective and positive learning environments for English learners. Based on their book, School-wide Systems for Multilingual Learner Success, authors Lisa Auslander and Joanna Yip have designed a systems-based approach for using services and resources to guide educational leaders in evaluating their unique systems and creating plans for improvement.

We use program-specific tools and strategies to navigate the process of:

  • Evaluating existing systems and strategy in areas such as data systems, intake, guidance, operations and curriculum and instruction;
  • Identifying successes and areas for improvement;
  • Creating actionable plans with accessible and manageable steps toward achieving equitable and effective educational outcomes for multilingual learners.

 

For more information, please email [email protected]

School-wide-Systems-for-Multilingual-Learner-Success

Program Offerings

A Live Online Leadership Course

An interactive learning opportunity for school and district leaders to collaborate around designing equitable school environments. Participants walk away with an action plan for how to operationalize a systems approach that includes a focus on:

Course Summary

  • Teacher team inquiry, planning, and collaboration
  • Social-emotional learning in planning and instruction
  • Culturally and linguistically responsive, trauma-informed assessment and interventions
  • Effective leadership strategies
  • Methods to coordinate the implementation of culturally and linguistically responsive teaching
  • Concrete strategies, tools, and resources to develop systems and structures for serving multilingual learners
  • Reflection and understanding your own strengths and areas of improvement as a leader for multilingual learners

 

For more detailed module outcomes and content, please visit our professional learning page.

For additional curriculum, coaching and technical assistance options, please visit our Bridges Newcomer Program page.

Strategic Planning to Build an MTSS Plan for ELLs

Program Offerings:

  • Identify strengths  and areas of need in academics, school climate, social-emotional learning and teacher and cross-functional team collaboration; 
  • Develop a more detailed action plan for a school or district to more effectively integrating MLL outcomes into the MTSS plan or improving the MTSS plan overall to be more inclusive for all students that address:
    • Curriculum and instruction 
    • Academic and mental health or SEL Interventions
    • Collaborative instructional teacher team;
    • Collaborative cross-functional teams including attendance, guidance and instructional staff.
  • Create a plan for technical support linked to the action plan and roles and responsibilities for developing teacher leaders.

Instructional Walkthrough or Cross-School District Audit of Practices

Program Offerings:

  • Conduct a school walkthrough or audit of practices across schools to inform strategic planning, focused on curriculum and instruction, data inventory, teacher and cross-functional teams,  and/or other systems. 
  • Facilitation of 3-5 strategic planning meetings with district executives and school principals to develop short and long-term action plans and continuous improvement structures for multilingual learners
  • A report of findings will help inform strategic planning and next steps to improve practices for MLLs and literacy. 
  • Ongoing district leadership team coaching and technical assistance as an optional add-on. 
  • Provide newcomer curricula, tools, coaching as an add-on option.

Facilitating Teacher Teams and Cross-functional Collaboration

Program Offerings: 

  • Support academic content area and cross-functional teams with facilitation tools to lead meetings more effectively including protocols and dialogue starters
  • Coaching team facilitators to develop leadership and facilitation skills and competencies; 
  • Developing a scope and sequence to better support analysis of student work around language development outcomes connected to content; 
  • Helping teams focus on student outcomes through data analysis.

Course Testimonials

This course has deepened my understanding of equity-driven leadership, reinforcing how intentional strategies can create meaningful change for multilingual learners. I am eager to continue applying these insights to help create an inclusive, supportive school environment.
  • Scott Freiberger, Assistant Principal, East Ramapo
The most valuable part of the Schoolwide Systems for MLL Success course was learning how to build sustainable, equity-driven systems that prioritize the success of multilingual learners. I appreciated the focus on aligning school operations—such as scheduling, staffing, and professional learning—with the unique needs of MLLs. The course also offered meaningful opportunities to reflect on current practices and collaborate with other educators, which helped me identify actionable next steps to strengthen support for multilingual learners in my school.
  • Amma Owusu Afriyie, Principal, East Ramapo

Book Testimonials

School-Wide Systems for Multilingual Learner Success is a perfect and timely book for today’s school leaders! As the number of English learners continue to increase and arrive in every corner of our educational systems, the need to develop school environments and systems to address their needs becomes more evident and more paramount daily. It is a book that definitely should be part of every effective school leaders’ arsenal.
  • Ron Woo, Executive Director, Language RBERN, NYU
“School-wide Systems…” has been the blueprint for all leaders, administrators, advocates and scholars who believe that all children have a right to a high quality education regardless of their cultural backgrounds and in spite of the challenges we face around issues of equity, immigration, human rights, lack of resources and our ever-changing times. This text provides guided support so that all stakeholders can serve and be served in a very intentional way to support ELs on their road to success.
  • Ivonne Mora, Teacher Leader, International Community High School, Bronx, NY