Highest Aspirations

How might a teacher use podcasts as a way to increase language skills of EL students? How can creating podcast episodes help newcomers become engaged contributors to their school communities? How can telling stories about family experiences in this format enhance cultural responsive practices?

We discuss these questions and more with James Housworth, creator of the Hidden Voices Podcast. James is a a high school EL teacher in Roseville, Minnesota. He works with both ends of the EL spectrum, teaching newcomer SLIFE students (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) as well as advanced LTELs (Long-Term English Learners). James is currently researching the differences between L1 and L2 literacy acquisition to finish his Masters in Education at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

How might a teacher use podcasts as a way to increase language skills of ELL students? How can creating podcast episodes help newcomers become engaged contributors to their school communities? How can telling stories about family experiences in this format enhance cultural responsive practices?

We discuss these questions and more with James Housworth, creator of the Hidden Voices Podcast. James is a a high school EL teacher in Roseville, Minnesota. He works with both ends of the EL spectrum, teaching newcomer SLIFE students (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) as well as advanced LTELs (Long-Term English Learners). James is currently researching the differences between L1 and L2 literacy acquisition to finish his Masters in Education at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

What are the implications of ESSA on ELL programs and instruction?What specifically are Title 1 and Title 3 administrators going to observe in the coming months? And how about principals and teachers? How is the K-12 world we know going to change in 2018-2019?

We discuss these questions and more as Ellevation President and Co-Founder founder Teddy Rice sits down with Dr. David Holbrook of TransACT Parent Notices. We handed over the mic the Teddy - our in house policy wonk - for this episode because he is well-versed in ESSA, which led to a rich conversation with David.

What are the implications of ESSA on ELL programs and instruction?What specifically are Title 1 and Title 3 administrators going to observe in the coming months? And how about principals and teachers? How is the K-12 world we know going to change in 2018-2019?

We discuss these questions and more as Ellevation President and Co-Founder founder Teddy Rice sits down with Dr. David Holbrook of Transact. We handed over the mic the Teddy - our in house policy wonk - for this episode because he is well-versed in ESSA, which led to a rich conversation with David.

What are some of the barriers to family engagement in underserved communities? How can using basic technology help educators better engage with families of English Language Learners? How do we go about changing mindsets and perceptions of families who may not have had positive experiences with formal education or those who have limited education in US schools?

We discuss these questions and more in our conversation with Heejae Lim. Heejae is the founder and Executive Director of Talking Points, an educational technology company whose mission is to drive student success in low-income, diverse areas through building strong partnerships across parents, schools, and communities. As she mentions in the episode, Heejae was influenced to start the company by her personal experience as a Korean immigrant living in London. We get into that and much more in our conversation.

What are some of the barriers to family engagement in underserved communities? How can using basic technology help educators better engage with families of English Language Learners? How do we go about changing mindsets and perceptions of families who may not have had positive experiences with formal education or those who have limited education in US schools?

We discuss these questions and more in our conversation with Heejae Lim. Heejae is the founder and Executive Director of Talking Points, an educational technology company whose mission is to drive student success in low-income, diverse areas through building strong partnerships across parents, schools, and communities. As she mentions in the episode, Heejae was influenced to start the company by her personal experience as a Korean immigrant living in London. We get into that and much more in our conversation.

Many team members here at Ellevation Education recently participated in the company's 5th annual Hackathon. In this bonus episode, Steve sits down with Ellevation's VP of Engineering Eric Wong to learn more about what it is and why we do it.

How do ELL programs and instruction differ in Canada? What supports are in place to help newcomers and their families succeed in their new country? How do educational systems in Canada support diverse populations of students?

We discuss these topics and more with Paula Markus, former ESL Coordinator for the Toronto School Board and Sessional Lecturer at the University of Toronto.

How do schools go about identifying and developing EL teacher leaders to help other educators work with culturally and linguistically diverse students? What strategies have been most successful in developing these EL teacher leaders? How do schools create a culture in which EL teachers can lead the way and serve as experts in their field?

We discuss these questions as they relate to pre-service programs, professional development, co-teaching models and more in our conversation with Dr. Felice Russell from Ithaca University and Dr. Kerry Soo Von Esch from Seattle University.

How can project based learning strategies help accelerate the learning of ELLs? What kind of community partnerships work best when implementing project based learning in schools? How might teachers facilitate learning outside of the schools in ways that are mutually beneficial to students and community members?

We discuss these questions and much more in our conversation with Donna M. Neary. Donna teaches high school Social Studies to English learners in Louisville, Kentucky. She is part of a team that piloted the Accelerate to Graduate program at her school. Donna’s role on the team is to teach US History, World History, Exploring Civics, Global Issues, and Humanities.

Her concentration on the importance of field trips to student learning is firmly rooted in her experiences guiding tours for students and observing the impact that being in proximity to art, history and authentic artifacts has on development of students critical thinking skills and cognition.