Dana Gastich French speaks to a crowd of educators and school administrators at Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth’s seminar, “Leading for Multilingual Learner Success: From Compliance to Coherence,” on Feb. 10. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth)
WAKEFIELD — Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) hosted an in-person professional development seminar, “Leading for Multilingual Learner Success: From Compliance to Coherence,” on Feb. 10 at Greater Lawrence Technical School in Andover.
Dana Gastich French, founder and lead consultant for UpRiver Education, guided school administrators, teachers and support staff from across the state through a seminar on leading multilingual students to success.
Sixty-five attendees from 37 Massachusetts school districts participated in the interactive program, which explored strategies to improve system-wide support for language development and equitable access to grade-level learning.
Participants reflected on their district’s current practices regarding multilingual learners and identified high-leverage next steps to strengthen instruction, family partnership and data-informed decision-making for multilingual students.
For over 20 years, Gastich French has educated and advocated for emergent multilingual students. She supports districts, universities and state agencies with training, coaching, English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum and consultation in topics including sheltered instruction, ESL team training and leadership support for English Learner Education (ELE) programming. Gastich French also co-authored “Teaching English Language Learners: Content and Language in Secondary Classrooms,” a staple text for master’s degree educator preparation programs.
Participants commended the seminar for its applicable tactics, in-person organization and Gastich French’s presenting skills.
“By attending the seminar ‘Leading for Multilingual Learner Success: From Compliance to Coherence,’ I was able to connect with other educators and administrators and discuss how schools and districts can make strategic moves to support and integrate multilingual learners and their education,” said Dr. Johanna E. Fawcett, Director of Language, Culture and Identity at Greater Lawrence Technical School. “The conversations and idea-sharing that occurred during this in-person seminar is not something that can be replicated through an email or shared slideshow. The presenter, Dana Gastich French, moved seamlessly from big picture ideas to granular-level analysis, leaving us all with our next steps for moving our schools and districts forward in support of our multilingual learners.”
“UpRiver Education’s Compliance to Coherence presentation offered by Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc. provided a clear, reflective framework for examining how districts can move beyond meeting requirements toward building aligned, sustainable systems that truly support multilingual learners,” said Johanna Townsend, English learner teacher and coordinator at Medway Public Schools. “It was so validating to hear shared experiences across districts, particularly around Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) implementation, family engagement and data use, while reinforcing the importance of shared responsibility and coherent practice. Having the opportunity in-person allowed us to have real conversations and really connect. I loved leaving with tangible next steps from real data.”
About the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides training, fosters collaboration and develops programming to increase the health and safety of students. MPY is committed to bringing cutting-edge information and high-quality trainings to constituents and endeavors to provide solution-oriented, community-based, multi-disciplinary approaches to reducing and ideally eliminating risky behaviors for youth. MPY programming reaches nearly 6,000 educators per year in Massachusetts, spread across approximately 300 districts, with more than 190 webinars and over a dozen conferences and seminars.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth is governed by a Board of Directors made up of school superintendents, police and fire chiefs, and other community leaders who work closely with MPY staff to deliver this mission. To learn more, visit: massachusettspartnershipsforyouth.com.
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Featured speaker Dana Gastich French, left, with Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth Executive Director Margie Daniels. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth)
Attendees participate in group discussions about supporting multilingual students during the seminar. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth)
