Shawn Slakk

Shawn Slakk is the CEO and founder of ABCDSS Consulting with more than 30 years of success in instruction at the school, district, and state level; education leadership; and professional-development consulting. Leveraging extensive experience in ESL, bilingual, and Spanish instruction across all grade levels and curricula, Shawn is a valuable asset for schools or districts requiring expert assistance with improving staff or family communications, educator training and professional development, or academic literacy and success for all learners. His areas of expertise include language acquisition, professional development training, school leadership, education regulations, and program analysis. He is an author and developer of professional development sessions focused on whole-school implementation, administrative support, and coaching.

Throughout his career, Shawn has held leadership positions the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, and Guilford County Schools. As the RETELL (Rethinking Equity and Teaching for English Language Learners) coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, he helped develop Sheltered English Instruction endorsement courses and led the training of approximately 40,000 educators throughout the entire state of Massachusetts.

Shawn’s curriculum and instruction doctorate from the University of Virginia will focus on supporting the needs and instruction of multilingual learners and teachers in using content to facilitate literacy. He holds an MA in TESOL from Eastern Washington University, a master of school administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a bachelor’s in English and Spanish education from Whitworth University. He is a former Certified WIDA Trainer and SIOP coach and the coauthor of Teaching Reading to ELs in 6th–12th (2018), Promises Fulfilled: A Leader’s Guide for Supporting English Learners (2017), and the 2017 article “Taking the Holistic Approach!” for Language Magazine.