Dual Language Assessments: Monitoring foundational skill development with parity

Description: Assessing Spanish-speaking students in their native language is central to leveling the playing field and empowering them on their literacy journey. Gathering foundational skills data on our students in Spanish and English is essential for driving instruction. In this session, we will explore using foundational skills assessment—in both English and Spanish—to enable teachers to pinpoint where their dual language learners really are in their skill development to provide targeted instruction and leverage cross-linguistic transfer. Participants will walk away with inspiration and teaching strategies to implement in their classrooms. Participants will be able to:

1. Explore the essential components of foundational skill assessments in English and Spanish
2. Examine mock student data to and suggested instructional strategies that support foundational skill development
3. Discuss ways in which cross linguistic transfer can support student literacy development in a Dual Language setting

Audience: Session in English and geared toward leaders and teachers

Speaker Bio: Speaker Bio: Alestra Flores Menéndez is a Senior Biliteracy Specialist at Amplify from San Francisco, California. She started her career as a Spanish Dual Immersion Teacher. Over the past two decades, Alestra has worked with multilingual students and teachers in the U.S., Mexico, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, and Brazil to support biliteracy. She has collaborated on projects designed for multilingual students with Stanford University’s SAIL project and UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. Alestra teaches college English with the University of California Berkeley’s Equal Opportunity and Advancement Program and at Mt. Tamalpais College at San Quentin Prison. Alestra firmly believes that supporting literacy development, which is a lifelong endeavor, is the most impactful way to change lives.