MILE Hosts Inaugural Dual Language Educator Conference
On June 1st, 2024, MILE welcomed countless educators and leaders in Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) to raise awareness, strengthen partnerships, and share understanding and resources for DLBE excellence and equity. Attendees heard from our keynote speaker, Mayra Canizales Cruz, attended bilingual sessions led by experienced DLBE educators, and participated in collaborative conversations centered around this year's theme, “Cultivating Bilingualism, Biliteracy, Academic Excellence, & Critical Multicultural Understanding in Our Schools.”
Mayra Canizales Cruz presenting her keynote, “Linguistic Liberation es un Derecho”
Mayra Canizales Cruz
About Mayra Canizales Cruz
Mayra Canizales Cruz is a lifelong Dual Language educator and Emergent Bilingual expert and national award-winning instructional leader. She is the founding partner of The Canizales Group and has developed the LEAD-Eres Framework used to prepare Latino/x school leaders for the dual language principalship. Mayra believes that all emergent bilinguals deserve linguistically liberating school models and helps school districts and networks prepare Latino/x leaders for the Dual Language principalship.
She served as the principal of Oyster-Adams Bilingual School in DC Public Schools from 2014-2021 where she was an equity-driven school leader, ultimately leading the school to be awarded a 2020 National Blue Ribbon in the Exemplary High Performing Schools category. In 2020, she was also recognized by the US Department of Education as a National Blue Ribbon principal, being awarded the coveted Terrel H. Bell Award for outstanding school leadership. Mayra has deep practitioner experience as a former teacher, instructional coach, and assistant principal in dual language schools. In 2012, she was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award by DC Public Schools.
Mayra was trained for school leadership through New Leaders and was a graduate of cohort 13 of the National Aspiring Principals program. She has also served as a teaching faculty member for the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, a Teaching for Results seminar leader for The New Teacher Project, and a curriculum and instruction fellow for the DCPS Teachers Central to Leadership program. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in elementary education from Boston College. Educational equity work resonates deeply with Mayra, as a daughter of formerly undocumented immigrants, a first-generation college graduate, a former "English language learner", and a product of bilingual school programming. Mayra is a native Spanish speaker and a balanced, bi-literate bilingual. She grew up in Hayward, California, and lives in Washington DC with her husband and sweet pup, Tank. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, working out on her Peloton, training for races, and watching documentaries.
Program Archive
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Assessing Bilingual Reading: Understanding (Valid) Uses of CBM-R Assessments in Dual Language Programs with Dr. Alejandro Pérez Belda
Empowering Novice Bilingual Educators: Strategies for DLBE Classrooms with Cody Norton
TALLER: Juego y diálogo en la enseñanza de matemática con Jaime Solano Cardoso y Angeles Itzel Reza
Translanguage-ando una unidad de 1er grado con Flor Rivas y Mariana Sanchez
Panel: Starting New Programs with Larissa Avellaneda, Autumn Hoffman, Julia Walsh, and Jane Tarwacki. Facilitated by Melinda Martin-Beltran
Growing Our Knowledge of Literacies: Varied Languages, Writing Systems, & Strategies to Ease Reading in English for DLLs with Dr. Anita Pandey
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Not Just in June: LGBTQIA+ Representation in the Dual Language Classroom with Serena Keeney-Horsch and Deirdre Beet
Metalanguage: A Road-Map to Develop Crosslinguistic Lessons That Advance Biliteracy with Vanessa Chacon, Ph.D. and Patricia Seidler
TALLER: Juego y diálogo en la enseñanza de matemáticas con Jaime Solano Cardoso y Angeles Itzel Reza
Bilingüe is Best: Lessons Learned While Developing a Bilingual Foundational Literacy Curriculum with Jaclyn Pilette and Beth Carmichael
Estrategias para fomentar el desarrollo del habla y participación del educando con Euclides Rengifo Cordoba
IMV Fellowship: Federal Funding for Bilingual Educators Enhancing Student Academic Language Development with Jennifer Kouakeu and Berenice Pernalete
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Las novelas gráficas, más allá del dibujo with Jenny Delgado
Transformational Coaching in Bilingual Schools: Elementos centrales y herramientas / Key Elements and Tools with Sandra Gutiérrez
Estrategias de dominios de aula usando técnicas de conciencia fonológica / Classroom Management Strategies Using Phonological Awareness Techniques with Carolina Saenz-Acosta
Cultivating Critical Consciousness for Teachers of Dual Language Learners with Génesis Aguilar Chavez
El Puente: Promoción de la conciencia bilingüe en estudiantes de escuela elemental con Monserrat Gil, Catalina Torres, y Jasmin Guerrero
Student-Led Collaborative Learning with Denia Nassar
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Language Development for ALL! Sensory, Interactive and Graphic supports in Dual Language Classrooms with Susan Levy and Tessa Arevalo
High-Quality Bi-literacy Strategies for Early-Ed Learners with Yesenia Padilla and Liza Sanchez
Centros de alfabetizacion bilingüe: La importancia del desarrollo de las 4 habilidades lingüísticas a través de centros independientes / Bilingual Literacy Centers: The Importance of Developing the Four Language Skills Through Independent Centers with Noelia Gomez Alvarez
Introducción del Uso de de Project by Learning como herramienta de trabajo en nuestro salón de clases bilingüe con Nancy Cintrón y Joyce Walderrama
School Leader Panel with Jessica Morales, Rosa Berrocal, and Elizabeth Perfaure
Translinguistic Connections: A Closer Look at Phonology and Phonetics with Dr. Antonio Fierro
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How can we support bilingual DLBE teacher professional learning in a context that is focused on English-only PD (both a critical issue and problem of practice)?
How do we work together to retain, sustain and support work-life balance for bilingual teachers?
How do we work together to retain, sustain and support work-life balance for bilingual teachers?
How can school leaders (DLBE coordinators, admin, instructional leads, coaches) work with district leaders to advocate for and support DLBE programs?
How to ensure families buy in and are engaged in planning, developing and sustaining DLBE programs? Particularly how do we engage minoritized/marginalized families?
How do we incorporate the language/literacy practices, histories, and funds of knowledge of minoritized students? (African-Americans, speakers of indigenous languages, LGBTQIA+, non-standard varieties, etc.)
How do we support students with special education needs in DLBE programs?
How do we effectively assess and design/implement interventions in DLBE programs?
How do we find and secure authentic and engaging resources for DLBE programs, particularly in the partner language?
How do we ensure we are meeting the third goal (socio-cultural competence) in our DLBE programs, considering the diverse backgrounds of our students and educators?
How do we teach for biliteracy, particularly focusing on the balance between languages and making connections across languages?
MILE would like to thank our fantastic planning committee: Co-chairs Dr. Amanda Cataneo, Dr. Melinda Martin-Beltran, Sandra Gutiérrez, and committee members Tessa Arévalo, Dr. Jasmine Brann, Dr. Loren Jones, Susan Levy, Isabel Mensah, Jessica Morales, Yarelis Morales, Alejandro Pérez Bella, and Flor Rivas.
