Leading Multilingual Learning

Leading Multilingual Learning

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Leading Multilingual Learning episodes

  • Innovation Over Invention with Michael Horn
    Today's guest Michael Horn is one of the most influential voices on educational innovation. He co-founded the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, lectures at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and co-hosts the podcasts Future U and Class Disrupted. His books include Disrupting Class, which he co-wrote with the late Clayton Christensen, Blended, From Reopen to Reinvent, and the bestselling Job Moves. He writes the Substack newsletter The Future of Education and is executive editor at Education Next. For nearly two decades, Michael has been thinking about how technology can — and should — transform the way we educate every learner.
    38 min
  • Rigor and Autonomy with Erick Casallas

    Today's esteemed guest is Erick Casallas, the Assistant Superintendent of the English Language Learner Division at the Clark County School District in Las Vegas — the fifth-largest school district in the nation. He oversees instruction and services for nearly 50,000 multilingual students across more than 360 schools. Erick started his career as a Teach for America corps member teaching fifth grade in East Los Angeles, and over the past 23 years he's served as a teacher, instructional specialist, EL program director, and principal of a dual language school. He was named Kern County Teacher of the Year in California and sat on the state's Commission on Teacher Credentialing. He's currently pursuing a doctorate at UNLV on building systematic supports for multilingual learners.

    37 min
  • Beyond The Seal of Biliteracy with Dr. Faith Tripp
    Today's guest is Dr. Faith Tripp, the Director of World Languages and English as a New Language in the East Williston School District and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Education at Molloy University. She has attained a BS in Early Childhood Education, an MS in Educational Leadership, an Advanced Certificate in TESOL, and an doctorate in Leadership for Diverse Learnin​g Communities. She is the co-chair of the New York State TESOL Leadership SIG and a member of the New York State Ed Department Seal of Biliteracy Task Force. Throughout her career, she has championed equity and access for multilingual learners, implementing innovative programs and serving in roles ranging from classroom teacher to building principal and district leader.
    34 min
  • Rethinking Translation

    Today we welcome three guests for one incredible conversation. Andrea Honigsfeld, Maria Dove, and Carrie McDermott Goldman are all professors at Molloy University. They are longtime collaborators and co-authors of the new Corwin book Wait, Don't Just Translate: Multidimensional Strategies for Emergent Multilingual Learners.

    Together they bring more than 70 years of experience teaching multilingual learners — from ESL classrooms in New York City to teacher preparation programs to district-level coaching. Andrea is a Fulbright Scholar and the author of more than 27 books. She and Maria co-developed the collaboration and co-teaching model that's used in schools across the country. And Carrie brings expertise in culturally responsive pedagogy and the intersection of multilingual and special education services.

    Their new book tackles a question that's only gotten more urgent in the age of AI translation: when does translating help our newcomer students, and when does it actually hold them back?

    55 min
  • What Learners Deserve with Dr. Piedad Kaye

    Today's guest Dr. Piedad Kaye has spent 40 years working in multilingual education – as an educator, researcher, and district leader. Most recently, Piedad served as Director of Bilingual, ESL, and Foreign Language Education for Mannheim School District 83 outside Chicago, where she helped build an asset-based bilingual and biliteracy program. Her research has focused on bilingual education, biliteracy, and the professional development of bilingual and ESL educators. And this past school year, Piedad retired after four decades in the field – which makes this a particularly special moment to have her with us. She has spent a career thinking about what multilingual learners deserve, what educators need in order to serve them well, and what it actually takes to build those systems in practice.

    And if you're listening to this episode, please subscribe to our newsletter! Just visit medleylearning.com/podcast to get all our latest drops, all the resources we discuss on the show, and so much more.

    48 min
  • Building The Best in Co-Teaching with Jill Ayabei

    Today's guest is a true gem of the Gem State. Jill Ayabei is the Federal Programs Coordinator for the Multilingual Division at West Ada School District — the largest district in Idaho, serving nearly 39,000 students from 91 countries who speak 85 languages. Jill has led West Ada's multi-year initiative to build an integrated co-teaching model for multilingual learners, moving the district away from a magnet school pull-out approach toward a model where ML specialists and content teachers co-plan, co-deliver, and co-assess instruction together. She was recognized for her work on the grant proposal that secured the Idaho EL Enhancement Grant, first awarded in 2023 and renewed through 2029.

    34 min
  • Challenging Educator Mindsets with Melissa Lambert
    In this episode we welcome special guest Melissa Lambert. Melissa is a senior district and state-level education leader with more than two decades of experience advancing outcomes for multilingual learners. She partners with state education agencies and districts nationwide to align curriculum, assessment, professional learning, and implementation systems around strong Tier 1 instruction. She is currently the Executive Director in the Office of School Leadership & Engagement for Yonkers Public Schools – New York's fourth-largest school district, serving over 23,000 students across 39 schools. A former teacher, founding principal, central-office administrator, and consultant, Melissa specializes in translating policy, research, and high-quality instructional materials into practical, scalable systems.
    44 min
  • Reflecting Holistic Bilingualism with Mario Palma & Jordan Montalvo
    Today we welcome on two very distinguished guests. Mario Palma is the founder of Palma Multilingual Educational Solutions and a former Vice President of Multilingual Teaching & Learning at American Reading Company. He has 25+ years of experience across public health and public education, starting as a bilingual teacher in New York City and moving into national-level work helping districts design and strengthen ESL, bilingual, and dual language programs. Jordan Montalvo works alongside Mario as the Director of Research and Innovation at Palma Multilingual Educational Solutions. She is also an instructor at Western Washington University, supporting incoming bilingual teachers. She previously worked at Amplify, supporting their dual language education and curriculum development. Jordan has taught in self-contained dual language and early elementary ELL classrooms and served as a Dual Language Program Facilitator in Everett Public Schools.
    51 min
  • Staying Focused On The Mission with Nadia Madan-Morrow
    Today's guest is Nadia Madan-Morrow, principal of Place Bridge Academy in Denver – one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse schools in the country. Nadia has spent her entire 24-year career devoted to MLs in Denver Public Schools. She started as a bilingual teacher, became an instructional coach, and led the district's Multilingual Education Department as Executive Director before becoming Chief of Academics for the entire district. As the daughter of immigrants, this work is especially personal to her, and the Academy's success is a credit to the tireless efforts of the dedicated team she leads.
    39 min
  • Teaching Language Across Content with Ryan Zak
    Today's guest Ryan Zak is the Director of Multilingual Programs and Community Outreach at Township High School District 211 — the largest high school district in Illinois. Ryan's career has spanned the full multilingual pipeline — from biliteracy teacher and instructional coach, to English Learner Program Coordinator, to directing a PreK–8 two-way dual language program. He joined D211 in 2025, and in his first year he assembled a multilingual leadership team, organized a district-wide symposium, got all 16 academic departments engaged in ML professional learning, and expanded the Seal of Biliteracy from five languages to nearly seventy.
    43 min

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