Innovations in Multilingual and Bilingual Literacies

Grades: K-9 

Dates: July 28-29, 2025

Times: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM EST

Location: In person at Teachers College, Columbia University

Price:

• Early Bird Discount: $425

• Regular Rate: $500, after May 1, 2025

• Group/Team Discount: $350 per person for groups of 10 or more. (If you qualify for a discount the price will appear at check out.)

• To apply for a scholarship click here, and see below for more information. 

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Who should attend: K-9 classroom teachers (literacy) curriculum and instructional specialists, coaches, principals, and school administrators.

Upon completion: Participants who complete this conference will receive a Certificate of Participation. Licensed educators in NY state are also eligible for a Continuing Teacher Leader Education (CTLE) certificate for a total of up to 12 CTLE hours.

This institute will focus on the intersection of theory and practice, will explore multiple pathways to support bilingual and multilingual students, and to augment their unique competencies. The team of instructors works nationally and globally, in schools and through research, and they will share practical classroom structures and instruction, as well as theory and research.  Participants will study theories of language acquisition, pedagogies to harness and strengthen learners’ cultural and linguistic capital, and instructional methods, and curriculum design. The institute is for all educators who teach in classrooms and systems where students come to school speaking more than one language.  

Learning Objectives:

• Designing curriculum that builds on students’ funds of knowledge, lived experiences, and linguistic development

• Understanding Stages of Language development and how to support students trajectory being intentional around our planning for our diverse language learners 

• Creating communities of care and belonging for all multilingual learners, especially newcomers 

• Practical and affirming supports for multilingual learners that promotes agency and culturally affirming practices 

• High leverage routines and structures to use inside and outside the classroom that promote language, vocabulary, and content knowledge around the curriculum

• Joyful vocabulary acquisition and classroom pedagogies to deepen students oral language and academic vocabulary using a variety of multimodal and knowledge building texts

• Planning instruction with deliberate language goals to support whole class, small group, and one on one feedback with students 

• Teaching emergent bilingual and multilingual students with disAbilities

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Institute Scholarships: 

We are pleased to offer scholarships for teachers and school leaders to attend Teachers College Advancing Literacy institute events. We invite interested teachers and literacy leaders to apply to learn with the Advancing Literacy team and fellow educators this summer. 

These scholarships are in memory of two devoted teachers and community members: our friend and colleague Kathleen Tolan, who mentored many of us as teachers and staff developers; and Kitty Donahue, a dedicated teacher and author, who attended events at Teachers College for many years and brought an enthusiasm for teaching and learning that was palpable. 

Please use this form to apply, to be considered for a scholarship applications should be submitted one month in advance of the institute. 

Logistics Overview: 

• Acceptance for the institute is contingent upon receipt of payment within 14 days (for all tickets purchased). 

• For early bird pricing, payment should be received and accepted by April 30, 2025. 

• Click here to access a Quote for your purchase, if needed.

• Once payment is received, please log in to your Dashboard (on our website) and assign the seat(s). If you need to make any modifications to seat assignments, please notify us at advancingliteracy@tc.columbia.edu. 

• We understand that unforeseen circumstances may arise, and a participant who has been accepted to the institute may be unable to attend. If you must withdraw, please let us know as early as possible. Once payment is made, it confirms your commitment to attend. If you must withdraw after paying, a $75 withdrawal fee will apply. Additionally, if you withdraw within one month of the start of the institute, we will be unable to issue a refund.