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District presenters outline bilingual/multicultural PD plans and language‑reclamation strategies
Summary
District bilingual/multicultural education staff and instructional coaches summarized takeaways from recent national conferences and outlined plans to bring training in‑district (train‑the‑trainer), implement Schoology voice assessments, and expand strategies like TPRS and portfolio assessments to support Navajo and Spanish language programs.
Central Consolidated School District bilingual and multicultural education staff presented a multi‑speaker report on professional development and language programming during Thursday's meeting, laying out how district leaders plan to adapt conference training for local teachers.
Speakers described attending national conferences (APFL/ATLAS, La Cosecha) and said they would use a "train‑the‑trainer" model to deliver sessions locally so all language teachers can participate. Presenters discussed classroom strategies including TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling), total physical response for oral language, language portfolios and low‑stakes speaking assessments.
Instructional coaches explained a technical approach for measuring oral language growth: using Schoology to collect student voiceovers and pre‑/post‑assessments, which allows teachers to capture pronunciation and speaking skills for later review. "Schoology... is the one that really spoke with Power to PowerSchool," a coach said when describing assessment workflow.
Presenters also discussed implementation constraints: heritage Navajo programs may have limited hourly allotments for instruction (one hour reduced by transition time), and teachers requested substantial technology and coaching support. The district said it has hired additional coaches and plans weekly team meetings to identify teacher needs and follow up with targeted site support.
Board members asked about outreach to earlier‑generation or retired language teachers, assessment timelines and how training will scale. District staff said they will provide agendas and handouts from conferences to principals and open internal PDs to administrators and board members who want to observe.
