Ryan Rumpf, Global Educators 

Newcomers are an incredibly diverse set of students who have a variety of characteristics, life goals and prior experiences with schooling. A mastery-based approach takes each individual student from where they are to where they need to be. Explore the detailed steps necessary to grow academically and linguistically within the zone of proximal development.   

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 

Rita Brusca-Vega, NAETISL 

Explore the process when attending interpreted meetings with bilingual parents and what to expect from an interpreter. Discover the "rules" for interpreted meetings and what to expect from an interpreter. Learn strategies to develop school staff as interpreters and use external agencies to increase parent satisfaction with school meetings. 

Strand: Student & Family Support 

Anna McGuire, Mehlville School District 

Every child deserves to learn at high levels. Explore tools that make learning accessible and fun for all. Gain actionable strategies for inclusive teaching. 

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 

Karissa Sywulka Mitchell, Saint Louis University 

Let's talk about the unspoken rules of speaking. If you are discouraged by disproportionate participation in class discussions and wondering how to engage your culturally and linguistically diverse students, this session is for you. Explore scholarly research on classroom talk and cultural ground rules of communication. Paricipate in hands-on activities related to creating culturally responsive tools for launching and assessing class discussions. 

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 

Angelica Mitchell, Ritenour School District 

Explore practical strategies, tools and resources to help newcomer MLs access content, engage meaningfully and thrive in the classroom. From scaffolding techniques and visual supports to technology tools and community connections, gain ready-to-use ideas that foster confidence and success for newcomers. Whether you're a classroom teacher, instructional coach or administrator, this session will equip you with actionable steps to ensure that all students feel empowered to learn. 

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 

Jonathon Lee, EducationPlus 

Podcasts are an innovative way to connect with MLs and their families, providing accessible content that informs, educates and builds community. Learn how to take a podcast from idea to launch, exploring simple tools and strategies to create engaging audio content. Discover how to plan, record and distribute a podcast tailored to your school community, ensuring linguistic and cultural inclusivity. No prior experience is needed, just a desire to amplify voices and strengthen connections through storytelling and technology. Please bring your own device to this session. 

Strand: Student & Family Support 

Reah Morabith, Heart of Missouri RPDC 

Ever wonder how long it should take your MLs to become proficient in English? Focusing on second language acquisition, delve into the progression of language learning from initial exposure to proficiency. Through activities and interactive discussions, experience and deepen your understanding of the characteristics and challenges associated with each stage, as well as an awareness of strategies that effectively support MLs at various points along their language acquisition journey. 

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 

Anne Truran, Together Language 

More and more schools are feeling an increasing demand on multilingual family communication systems. Despite the best of intentions, families are often excluded from important information and school relationships, students miss out on critical services, and districts are left legally vulnerable due to gaps in multilingual communication systems and culture. Explore the most common myths and pitfalls schools encounter, as well as how to fix it. Addressing multilingual communication can lead to greater inclusivity, better well-being and academic outcomes for kids, and higher staff morale. 

Strand: Leadership & School Culture 

Erin Lawson, EducationPlus 

Explore social media's impact on MLs. Inspired by The Anxious Generation, analyze excerpts and collaboratively develop support strategies. Gain practical strategies to support the well-being of MLs in this digital age. No prior reading needed. 

Strand: Student & Family Support 

Daisy Skelly, Parkway School District 

Creating collaborative relationships with caregivers is essential for the success of all students. Family engagement goes beyond school walls and looks different for every family. By embracing and honoring the varied ways caregivers support literacy, teachers and administrators can create a positive school culture where students and families thrive. Come prepared to exchange dreams, ideas, thoughts and suggestions for building and maintaining caregiver relationships within our communities. 

Strand: Student & Family Support 

Daisy Skelly, Parkway Schools and Rob Greenhaw, EducationPlus 

Explore practical ways to prepare students for the annual ACCESS test throughout the school year, beginning with goal setting in August. Tips and tools will be shared for monitoring growth in all 4 domains. These could be used with individual students, small groups or even the whole class (if in a co-teaching environment). Many of the skills needed to take the ACCESS test are applicable to all tests and helping students feel confident in their test-taking abilities can boost proficiency scores. 

Strand: Summative and Formative Assessment 

Ryan Rumpf, Global Educators 

Review a blended instructional routine using video and AI to reach newcomer students. Explore the tools and strategies necessary to provide access to grade level content to newcomers from many language backgrounds. 

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 

Rob Greenhaw, EducationPlus 

Move beyond isolated grammar lessons and into purposeful, content-rich language development. Discover how sentence frames and scaffolded sentence-level activities can support MLs in building grammatical complexity while engaging in meaningful academic expression. Gain strategies for connecting grammar, vocabulary and meaning through both speaking and writing int the context of learning. 

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 

Anne Truran, Together Language 

Prepare educators in all roles with practical Spanish that would be most relevant for building relationships with Spanish-speaking students and families in the school setting. 

Strand: Student & Family Support 

Sheri Lawson, Hazelwood School District 

This session focuses on managing ML documentation efficiently. Learn about creating and maintaining ILPs, ELD consult forms, releveling processes and master caseload management. Tools for sharing data with schools and general education teachers will be introduced, ensuring streamlined communication and compliance. Gain a better understanding of ML paperwork systems and effective use of digital tools for sharing information. 

Strand: School & Community Resources 

Genise Henry, University of Texas – Austin 

Explore how educators can implement a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to meet the diverse needs of MLs. Learn how to integrate academic, behavioral and social-emotional supports within a tiered framework to promote language development and equitable learning opportunities. Explore effective strategies for core instruction (Tier 1), targeted interventions (Tier 2) and intensive supports (Tier 3), with a focus on culturally responsive practices and progress monitoring. Gain practical tools to enhance ML success in any educational setting. 

Strand: Leadership & School Culture 

John Converse, EducationPlus 

Drawing from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) framework of the eight dimensions of well-being, delve into strategies and practices to support the holistic mental health of MLs and the staff who support the learners. 

Strand: Leadership & School Culture 

Keynote Speaker Isaac Marquez 

Discover practical strategies for teaching the language of science. Explore how targeted language-learning techniques can boost content mastery and academic language skills. Through structured conversations and meaningful vocabulary use, learn how to empower every student to succeed in the science classroom. 

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 

Keynote Speaker Sally Barnes 

Explore innovative ways to make social studies accessible and meaningful for MLs at all proficiency levels. Through hands-on examples and interactive strategies, learn how to engage and support MLs while accelerating language acquisition and maximizing content mastery. Gain a bank of ideas to transform your social studies classroom into a content and language-rich environment.   

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 

Dr. Diana Hsu and Jennifer Riesenmy, Ladue School District 

Delve into key insights from Corwin’s new publication, Language of Identity, Language of Access. Explore the value of translanguaging over code-switching and examine the complexity of the English language, shaped by both Latin and Germanic roots. Discover the benefits of emphasizing function-driven language in the classroom and gain practical strategies to support students in developing their language skills at the word, sentence and discourse levels—empowering them to navigate the language of access with confidence. 

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 

Heather LeCureux, Missouri State University and Nikki Stockdell, Fort Zumwalt School District 

Explore a school-based professional development program designed to promote dialogue and outcomes for MLs. The program starts with a self-assessment tool to help teachers evaluate their current practices, followed by ten self-paced modules. These modules focus on essential topics related to equity and best practices for supporting MLs. Review success stories from Missouri schools that have completed the program and receive access to the TEAMS USA course website, a downloadable workbook and a facilitator’s guide to support your learning experience. 

Strand: Leadership & School Culture 

Sylvia Steiner, Ritenour School District 

Explore how to practice and model language in a way that is relevant and meaningful for students. Collaborative writing utilizes all four domains: listening, speaking, reading and writing. This instructional method incorporates vocabulary by theme and models conventions of English for all students. 

Strand: Instructional Practices for Multilingual Learners (MLs)