Insights

Since the start of my career in education, I’ve been committed to helping improve literacy rates amongst students and equip educators with the right tools for the best possible student outcomes. But over time, circumstances have caused the needs of both students and teachers to evolve and now require new tools and strategies to address the challenges within literacy instruction. There is a plethora of research and resources analyzing the best ways to adapt classrooms to these new approaches. However, there is one area that lacks the robust knowledge required to make an impactful change in students' lives: the unique needs of the nearly 5 million emergent bilingual students in U.S. public schools.

The needs of this population are frequently left out of the conversation when discussing how to best serve students, and with this population growing rapidly, it is essential for administrators and educators to think critically about their academic success. With a lack of proper focus surrounding the discussion of literacy equity, I gathered some of the greatest minds in the space to brainstorm how we can better serve emergent bilingual learners.

Unifying Language Acquisition with Literacy Instruction for Language Minority Students

Earlier this year, I hosted a roundtable that gathered some of the top leaders in the literacy education space to learn more about the best applications for evidence-based approaches for bilingual learners, and experts had the chance to discuss their own theories to some of the most pressing issues facing these students. The roundtable allowed for a seemingly dispersed community of academics and educators to form better connections and closer collaborations. However, through all of the back and forth, it became clear that this was only the beginning of the conversation.

Moving Forward

Looking ahead, the Lexia Learning team will continue to foster these connections for industry experts to ensure the discussion does not end here. There are countless other industry leaders who can offer their experience, expertise and insight to further influence the work we do at Lexia. Personalized professional development will be key in advancing literacy in these communities. With educational technology support, renewed language on the subject matter, and programs for students to address their own learning needs, we can create a new outlook on the future of literacy.

We hope to grow the impact of these partnerships on the K-12 marketplace so that the industry as a whole can offer the best opportunities to learners of any background. Learn more about the roundtable and my other work with emergent bilingual students here and here.