How can we determine the difference between pushing our language learners to productive struggle vs. past their frustration point? What can educators do to intentionally address or decrease the impact that our own implicit bias may have on our expectations for our students? How can we support students, particularly multilingual learners, in un-learning low self-esteem or self-confidence for their own learning abilities?

We address these questions and more with Amy King and Yvonne Williams from WCEPS, who each have over 20 years of experience in multilingual education in a variety of roles. They specialize in providing highly effective professional learning opportunities to help educators best serve their multilingual learners.

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Yvonne is the Director of Multilingual Learner Educator Engagement at WCEPS. She collaborates closely with LEAs to discuss educator goals and needs to develop the best path to topics that align with those goals. Prior to WCEPS, she spent three years with WIDA, as a Professional Learning Specialist working in both international and domestic settings. She has worked in education for 25+ years, teaching a variety of language learners from grades Kinder to High School. She also worked as a District ELL Trainer, ELL Instructional Coach, Family Literacy Coordinator, and High School Parent Involvement Coordinator. Yvonne was born in Chihuahua Chihuahua Mexico and came to the US when she was 5. Her experience as an English language learner adds passion to her work. She is joined by her two sisters as first-generation graduates with a master's degree. Her journey as an EL student has provided her with insights that promote high expectations, recognizing potential and leveraging the cultural assets that bilingual students bring to school communities. She now lives in Washington State with her husband but lived in Las Vegas, Nevada for over 23 years prior to moving to Washington. Her two bi-racial sons are proud to hold bachelor's degrees and live in Nevada and Washington states. She believes in family first and values the value that public education can provide for all students. She earned her bachelor’s in business administration from Angelo State University in Texas and her Master's in Bilingual Education from NOVA Southeastern University, Florida. Her endorsements include TESL, Bilingual, and Computer Literacy.

Amy King has more than 20 years of experience in the field of English language teaching and learning both in the US and overseas. Before joining WCEPS, Ms. King was a Senior Professional Learning Specialist at WIDA for more than six years. She taught ESL in K–12 public schools, private language schools, and adult education programs. Internationally, she has taught in both Slovakia and South Korea. In Banska Bystrica, she was a visiting lecturer at Mateja Bela University. In Seoul, she worked at Shin–il High School as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant and at the Foreign Language Institute of Yonsei University. She was an English Language Fellow at Hanoi Metropolitan University in Vietnam through a program sponsored by the US State Department. She holds a BS in Speech and an MS in Journalism from Northwestern University near Chicago. She earned a TESOL Certificate from American University in Washington, DC and a Multiple–Subject Teaching Credential from National University in San Diego. In addition to certificates in Blended Learning, Microlearning and E–Learning, she earned a Master of Instructional Design from the Association of Talent Development. She is currently working on a MS in Educational and Instructional Technology through National University.

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