Dual Language Bilingual education Foundations Series  

Summer Institute PD For New & Establishing Programs/Educators

VIRTUAL PD: In this series, there are numerous different 2-hour, 4-hour, and 6-hour virtual Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) Professional Development (PD) sessions offered Monday, August 4 to Friday, August 15 at 9:30-11:30am and 1:00-3:00pm. Zoom links will be sent out a week prior. View full Summer Institute 2025 schedule. 

ABOUT:  This is a series for both educators and leaders looking to understand the building blocks and resources for DLBE programs. Some sessions address program structure and planning, while others focus on instruction and coaching.

COST: The registration cost per 2-hours of PD for members is $100. Non-members have an additional one-time $50 charge (for yearly membership fee – learn more about MABE member benefits here). When registering, first select your member status, and then select the sessions you would like to attend. 

AUDIENCE: Designed for new and establishing programs and educators. 

REGISTRATION: Registration closes Friday, July 18. Late registration (with additional fee) defaults on Saturday, July 19. Minimum of 10 registrants per session. 

SESSIONS: 

• DLBE Essentials
       Monday, August 4 & Tuesday, August 5, 9:30-11:30am (4-hours)
              Member Cost: $200 | Non-Member Cost: $250
  Facilitator(s): Meg Burns (MABE Director of Professional Development) Description: This two-day PD provides an overview presentation for educators, community members, and other partners of a district/school contemplating or new to DLBE at the elementary-school level. This PD also provides a foundational knowledge of DLBE as well as an understanding of the planning and commitment required to build a successful program. The goal is for all participants to understand the research and theoretical rationale, the goals, and a beginning understanding of the program structure of DLBE. 
  
  
• ️Considerations in Program Planning & Implementation
       Monday, August 4, 1:00-3:00pm (2-hours)
             Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Meg Burns (MABE Director of Professional Learning) & Phyllis Hardy (MABE Executive Director) 
  Description: An introduction to and preview of the Sembrando Raíces and La Siembra program planning retreats, this session will introduce topics such as enrollment procedures, school language policy, staffing and hiring, language allocation plans, communication plans, and action plans. We will discuss why these early decision-making steps are essential for ensuring long-term program success and district systemic coherence.
  
  
• Language Allocation Plan vs. Curriculum Alignment Plan
       Tuesday, August 4, 1:00-3:00pm (2-hours)
             Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Elissa Washburn (MABE Program Coordinator & Consultant) & Meg Burns (MABE Director of Professional Development) 
  Description: An introduction to and preview of the El Brote program planning retreat, this session will introduce two essential components of DLBE planning: the language allocation plan and curriculum alignment plan. We will discuss why creating these two plans prior to program launch will help ensure program success and district systemic coherence. 
  
  
• Spanish Foundational Skills for Emerging Bilinguals: Standards, Skills, & Strategies for Success
       Wednesday, August 6 - Friday, August 8, 9:30-11:30am (6-hours)
            Member Cost: $300 | Non-Member Cost: $350
  Facilitator(s): Ayda Parra-Rojas & Sarah Rodriguez (Windham Public Schools, CT Dual Language Specialists)
  Description: This three-day PD will explore how should Spanish Literacy Foundational Skills be taught in a DLBE Program. Participants will learn to determine strengths and weaknesses of approaches, methods, and programs currently in use for teaching Spanish Literacy Foundational Skills. Participants will make a year-long plan to teach their grade-level Spanish Literacy Foundational Skills Standards, experience teaching strategies for helping students acquire Foundational Skills (including placing and defending the correct use of the accent mark), and plan contrastive analysis activities for their students to develop metalinguistic awareness around the Foundational Skills.
  This PD is presented bilingually, partially in Spanish and partially in English.
  
  
• DLBE Coaching Institute
        Wednesday, August 6 - Friday, August 8, 1:00-3:00pm (6-hours)
            Member Cost: $300 | Non-Member Cost: $350
  Facilitator(s): Amy Finsmith (Windham Public Schools, CT Supervisor of Multilingual Education) 
  Description: 
  • This three-day PD will begin with "Part 1:  Building Coherence in DLBE Programs with the Cornerstones Framework" (please note that Part 1 is also available as a stand-alone session, see next session description). Coherence across classrooms, schools, and districts is essential for student success in dual language education. This interactive training supports Dual Language leaders and coaches in deepening their understanding of intentional dual language pedagogy while fostering instructional alignment. Participants will explore The Cornerstones Framework, a practical tool for guiding instruction, coaching, supervision, and professional development. Through discussions and hands-on activities, they will learn to apply this framework to support both novice and experienced teachers and leaders. Attendees will leave with a clear vision, practical tools, and a copy of the framework to strengthen dual language programs in their schools and districts.
  • Part 2 and 3 of this session is designed for new and experienced DLBE coaches who want to refine their coaching practice and explore what makes coaching in DLBE settings unique. Transitioning from teaching or general instructional coaching to Dual Language coaching requires a distinct skill set and lens. Participants will examine the key differences between content-area coaching and DLBE coaching, engage in critical reflection on their current practices, and gain hands-on experience with a coaching model tailored for DLBE programs. Through interactive discussions and coaching simulations, attendees will strengthen their ability to support teachers in developing and implementing effective multilingual teaching strategies in a DLBE classroom.
  Whether you are transitioning into a DLBE coaching role, new to coaching, or an experienced coach looking to enhance your approach, this institute provides a structured space to analyze, refine, and elevate your coaching practice.
  
  
• Building Coherence in DLBE Programs with the Cornerstones Framework
       Wednesday, August 6, 1:00-3:00pm (2-hours) 
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Amy Finsmith (Windham Public Schools, CT Supervisor of Multilingual Education) 
  Description: Coherence across classrooms, schools, and districts is essential for student success in dual language education. This interactive training supports Dual Language leaders and coaches in deepening their understanding of intentional dual language pedagogy while fostering instructional alignment. Participants will explore The Cornerstones Framework, a practical tool for guiding instruction, coaching, supervision, and professional development. Through discussions and hands-on activities, they will learn to apply this framework to support both novice and experienced teachers and leaders. Attendees will leave with a clear vision, practical tools, and a copy of the framework to strengthen dual language programs in their schools and districts.
• This session is included in the 3-day registration for DLBE Coaching Institute above, but it is also available a stand-alone session.
  
  
• ️Supporting Dually Identified Students in DLBE
       Monday, August 11, 9:30-11:30am (2-hours) 
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Phyllis Hardy (MABE Executive Director)   
  Description: This workshop will address how a DLBE program can be created to support ALL students, including students with complex behavioral, social, and learning needs. The white paper "Welcoming Bilingual Students with Disabilities into DL Programs" will ground the content of this workshop.
  
  
• ️Three Pillars, Three Objectives
       Tuesday, August 12, 9:30-11:30am (2-hours)
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Elissa Washburn (MABE Program Coordinator & Consultant) 
  Description:  To better understand how to target and support language in dual language classrooms, participants in this PD will identify and review the three objectives all dual language lessons should have: content, language, and cultural objectives. The majority of the time will be spent diving deeply into language objectives, learning about the components of effective language objectives: language functions, language features, and language supports.
  

• ️Oracy in DLBE
       Tuesday, August 12-Friday, August 15, 9:30-11:30am (6-hours)
            Member Cost: $300 | Non-Member Cost: $350 
  Facilitator(s): Elissa Washburn (MABE Program Coordinator & Consultant) 
  Description: This three-day PD will explore the following:
  • Beginning Oracy: Academic Conversations - This course will introduce Academic Conversations (Jeff Zweir) and discuss how to modify this pedagogy for the DLBE classroom. We will review the different components of Zweir’s academic conversations through video examples in Spanish and English. We will discuss a timeline for implementation and modifications for different elementary grade levels. Participants will have an opportunity to practice academic conversation skills - paraphrasing/summarizing, elaborating/clarifying, building on/challenging, supporting, and applying/connecting and leave with strategies for building oracy in their DLBE classroom.
  • Scaffolding Oracy for DLBE - In this session, we will consider how to backwards design oracy activities for language. We will create a variety of scaffolding tiers to support oral language for students at different levels of language acquisition. Participants will backwards plan an academic conversation with differentiated scaffolding.
  • Diving Deeper into Oracy: Visible Thinking Routines - This course will offer an advanced oracy pedagogy, Visible Thinking Routines (Harvard's Project Zero), and discuss how to modify it for the DLBE classroom. We will review the possibilities available in the Visible Thinking Toolkit and see examples of the toolkit in practice. Participants will have an opportunity to practice several visible thinking routines and leave with advanced strategies for building oracy through Visible Thinking Routines in their DLBE classroom.

• Registration Policy: Please contact megburns@mabene.org for group registrations (registrations for a group of 4 or more individuals from a district/school). 
• Payment Policy: MABE must receive payment or Purchase Order numbers by the date registration closes (send to elissawashburn@mabene.org). Sorry, American Express cards not accepted. 
• Cancellation & Refund Policy: Event registrations are transferable up to 1 week (7 days) before the event starts. Cancellation refunds of payments will be subject to a 10% reduction of the registration fee, refundable up to 1 week (7 days) before the event starts.