LUMBERTON — “We’re going to talk a little bit about how language is a superpower.”
Those were the words spoken by Dr. Maria Coady during a recent professional development session at PSRC Central Office involving school principals, multilingual learner educators and others.
Dr. Coady is a professor of Multilingual Education at North Carolina State University.
The session led by Coady focused on teaching strategies and providing additional support in classrooms for multilingual learners, meaning students who are learning to speak English as a second/additional language.
Coady spoke of the process of translating words and how different areas of the brain are used regularly by multilingual individuals, which adds health benefits for them. She also spoke of English language proficiency levels and using World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Can Do Descriptors to support student learning.
Various groups of educators, principals, academic coaches and PSRC leaders could be seen collaborating and writing out goals for the session on large posters displayed on the walls of the boardroom.
“Ongoing, targeted, and timely professional learning for all educators of ML (multilingual learner) students and families is essential,” Coady said.
“I was thoroughly impressed with the commitment by the district to improve learning and engagement for ML students. This is such an important population that brings tremendous strength and diversity to North Carolina, and I am happy to be part of this work,” she added.
More than 146,000 students have been identified as English learners across North Carolina, according to the 2022-2023 Headcount of English Learners in North Carolina report by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The number was an increase of 14,894 students over the previous year.
The district is also seeing a rise in the number of multilingual learners at multiple schools.
PSRC serves approximately 3,800 multilingual learners, which is an increase from the approximately 1,800 multilingual learners served by the district in 2018.
“It is critical that we continue our efforts to educate all children and that we continue to remove and address barriers to student learning and success. The teaching strategies and standards discussed in the session were powerful and have the potential to enhance learning for our multilingual learners,” said PSRC Superintendent Dr. Freddie Williamson.
“As the district continues its journey to support ML students, it will set a direction for other rural districts across the state,” Coady said.
Coady