This is a watershed moment for all of us who work with EL students. Thanks to the LOOK ACT (which you and MATSOL helped to pass), we have opportunities to teach bilingual students in ways we haven’t been able to do for years. How do we take advantage of those opportunities?

If you’ve been wondering about that too, consider attending some of these sessions at the 2019 MATSOL conference! These sessions are presented by your fellow educators in the field.

1. Codemeshing and Multimodal Literacy: The LOOK Act’s Translingual Potential
2. EL Student Success Plans: From the Ground Up
3. Impact of English-Only instruction on English Language proficiency of ELs
4. LOOKing at Our Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Community Engagement Practices
5. Primeiro Eu Canto, Depois Eu Falo: Teaching Two Immersion Students
6. Supporting Positive Identity Development and Language Learning in Science Classrooms
7. The Politics of the Look Act Teaching Spanish Heritage Language

We are also very fortunate that the staff of the Office of Language Acquisition from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) are coming to share their perspectives on topics including Curriculum and Professional Development Updates from OLA, ELE Compliance and Alternative Programming Proposals, English Learner Parent Advisory Council (ELPAC): Getting Started, LOOK Act Requirements for English Learner Benchmarks, State of the State 2019: Update on English Learner Education, the State Seal Of Biliteracy, and The LOOK Act and Alternative Programs in Massachusetts.

There is a lot to look forward to at the 2019 MATSOL Conference. See you there!