Everyone is a Language Teacher

Thank you to our 

sponsor, Otus!

for making this Peer Learning event 

a success

Celina Mathews, an experienced educator and program leader, advocates for inclusive practices supporting multilingual learners by embedding language development in classrooms and using data for intentional support. 

She believes recognizing students' linguistic identities fosters growth and is the founder of Fluency Compass, an assessment platform providing insights to guide language support, track growth, and celebrate achievement across all language domains.

Breakout Rooms

Participants will explore how to build deeper investment and shared responsibility for language development across the whole school community—including administrators, classroom teachers, students, and parents. 

Participants will examine how to better identify, support, and advocate for multilingual learners who may also have exceptional learning needs—ensuring these students are not under-identified, misidentified, or underserved. 

Participants will explore multiple types of language-related data and share strategies for using that data to inform instructional decisions. The session will emphasize moving beyond isolated scores toward meaningful triangulation—combining multiple data points to guide responsive and actionable language support. 

Participants will reflect on how classroom environment, language practices, and instructional design contribute to a sense of inclusion and belonging for multilingual learners. The session will explore how to create learning spaces—physical, emotional, and linguistic—where all students feel valued, seen, and supported. 

Carousel Exchange

A collaborative space where educators share practical, high-impact strategies and tools that support multilingual learners across subjects and grade levels—building a collective toolbox grounded in real classroom experience. 

Tools and strategies will be categorized into the following areas: 

• Scaffolding Language in Content Areas

• Building Academic Vocabulary 

• Student Talk & Structured Interaction 

• Translanguaging & Home Language Integration 

• Assessment for Language Growth 

All participants are encouraged to showcase one or more of their most impactful tools or strategies that support multilingual learners. 

Add your strategy to our shared Padlet and be ready to showcase during the Carousel Exchange! 

Showcases should be casual (3–5 minutes) and authentic—this is our time to extend support beyond our own classrooms!