Empower Every Multilingual Learner in Your Community
Join us in discovering professional learning opportunities specifically crafted to elevate support for multilingual learners (MLs) while enhancing instruction, collaboration, and systems alignment throughout your school or district. This year’s thoughtfully designed programs offer structured guidance for educators and administrators, creating meaningful connections within the ELD community. Together, we’ll explore, learn, and exchange proven strategies that champion authentic inclusion and drive real results for multilingual learners.
Ready to make a difference? Let’s grow together.
ELD Offerings
MCIU ELD Council 26-27
Strengthening ML Programming Through Effective Scheduling
Friday, November 6, 2026 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
We have partnered once again with SupportEd, LLC for an in-person professional learning session focused on scheduling considerations for MLs. The sessions will be grounded in content from Advocating for Multilingual Learners: A Guide for Educators, Second Edition. Educators will develop practical strategies and tools to more effectively support MLs, resulting in increased student engagement and enhanced academic outcomes. The collaboration will also strengthen teacher confidence and capacity to address the diverse needs of ML students.
A copy of the text will be provided for participants registered before October 16th.
Participants will:
- Analyze intake and enrollment processes and procedures for secondary MLs.
- Determine solutions to barriers to effective scheduling of MLs to meet graduation requirements and post-secondary goals.
- Design equitable intake, enrollment, and scheduling processes that ensure access to rigorous coursework, electives, and language development.
Teams are highly encouraged to attend together. Teams at the middle school and high school levels are the target audience and could include building administrator, school counselor, and ESL Specialist.
Shannon Smith, PhD
Shannon Smith, PhD, is an ML Coach and Technical Assistance Specialist with SupportEd. At SupportEd, Shannon has worked with clients in Maryland, Maine, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to develop and facilitate professional learning and provide technical assistance for educators on best practices for ML education. Shannon began her career as an English language acquisition teacher in the Reading School District in Pennsylvania, teaching elementary MLs in a sheltered content classroom. She then transitioned to the School District of Lancaster in PA where she became an ESL teacher and taught elementary MLs while providing professional learning for classroom teachers and later became an ESL instructional coach. Shannon became the Coordinator of English Language Development and World Languages K-12 with the School District of Lancaster, overseeing programming for MLs, curriculum development, and professional learning. As an instructional coach and administrator, Shannon evaluated the effectiveness of professional learning through evaluation forms and classroom walkthroughs utilizing quantitative and qualitative data to inform professional development paths. In partnership with Education Resource Strategies (ERS) and MA DESE, she also is supporting high schools in Massachusetts in redesigning schedules and programming to better meet the needs of ML newcomer students. These experiences have deepened Shannon’s passion for ensuring all teachers are equipped to support their MLs in meeting grade-level content and language expectations through technical assistance and high-quality professional learning and coaching.
Strengthening Verbal Reasoning Explicit Instruction: Strategies to Deepen Comprehension and Critical Thinking in Grades 6-12
Thursday, March 4, 2027 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Language Structure: Sentence Comprehension and Composition Grades 6-122
Thursday, April 8, 2027 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Recent ELD Posts
Resource Pages
Improving Classroom Talk: Moving Towards Authentic Communication
Promoting Understanding Across Languages: Translation and Interpretation for English Learners
MCIU Title III Consortium Resources
Building Background Knowledge
Access Pennsylvania’s Complete Requirements for English Learner Education
Visit this essential resource to understand the comprehensive guidelines, policies, and procedures governing the education of English learners (ELs) in Pennsylvania schools. This official Basic Education Circular provides detailed guidance on federal and state requirements for identifying, placing, and serving multilingual students, including program design standards, teacher qualifications, assessment protocols, and parent notification procedures. Whether you’re an administrator ensuring compliance, an educator planning instruction, or a stakeholder advocating for multilingual learners, this document serves as your authoritative reference for meeting Pennsylvania’s educational standards under state regulations and federal statutes including ESSA, Title VI, and the Equal Educational Opportunity Act.
This resource is particularly valuable for understanding specific requirements around English Language Development (ELD) instruction, Language Instruction Educational Programs (LIEPs), reclassification procedures, and the intersection of special education services with English learner support.
Meet the TeamÂ
Reach out to any of the team members for more information.Â
