Transforming Schools for Multilingual Learners: A Comprehensive Guide for Educators

Essential principles, practices, and structures for multilingual learners

Much has changed in the ten years since this book was first published. A celebrated triumph, it provided state, district, school, and teacher leaders with a comprehensive guide to support multilingual learners to reach their full potential. From selecting the appropriate program model to partnering with families and infusing federal and state laws governing the education of multilingual learners and the rights of their families into all we do, the key messages that made the first edition of this book a renowned success have been re-examined in the second edition with a robust lens to meet these demanding times.

This second edition supports educators to design and enact policies, practices, and structures for multilingual learners (MLs) to feel a sense of safety, belonging, value, and competence.

Topics explored in the book include: 

• a discussion of the changes to federal and state policies and their impact on MLs and their families
• strategies to move from a deficit- to an asset-based approach that values multilingualism
• nine principles to design and deliver high-quality lessons in multiple languages and across disciplines
• practices to identify and support MLs with learning differences and disabilities
• steps for building long-lasting family-school partnerships

Reflecting changing trends in leadership, this new edition supports superintendents, principals, curriculum supervisors, coaches, mentors, teachers, and other stakeholders in their collaborative efforts to create and sustain successful language assistance programs.

Dr. Debbie Zacarian, founder of Zacarian & Associates, provides professional development, strategic planning, and technical assistance for K-16 educators of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. She has served as an expert consultant for school districts, universities, associations, and organizations including the Massachusetts Parent Information Resource Center and Federation for Children with Special Needs.

Debbie has worked with numerous state and local education agencies and written the language assistance programming policies for many rural, suburban, and urban districts.  Debbie served on the faculty of University of Massachusetts-Amherst where she co-wrote and was the co-principal investigator of a National Professional Development grant initiative supporting the professional preparation of educators of multilingual learners.  Debbie also designed and taught courses for pre- and in-service administrators and teachers on culturally responsive teaching and supervision practices, multilingual development, and ethnographic research.  In addition, she served as a program director at the Collaborative for Educational Services where she provided professional development for thousands of educators of multilingual students and partnered with Fitchburg State University in co-writing and enacting a National Professional Development initiative that supported STEM education. Debbie also directed the Amherst Public Schools bilingual and English learner programming where she and the district received state and national honors. 

The author of more than 100 publications, her most recent professional books include: Beyond Crises: Overcoming Linguistic and Cultural Inequities in Communities. Schools and Classrooms; Responsive Schooling for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students; Teaching to Empower: taking action to foster student agency, self-confidence, and collaboration; and Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students living with Trauma, Violence and Chronic Stress.