Pre-Conference Workshop: Affirming Diversity: Culturally Responsive Practices for all Classrooms - In this pre-conference workshop, Dr. Nieto will work with participants to explore what it means to create culturally responsive classrooms for students of all backgrounds, including English learners. The workshop will be interactive in nature, engaging participants in learning about the history, concepts, and practices of multicultural education and culturally responsive education with a focus on pedagogy, curriculum, collaboration with colleagues, and outreach to families. Participants will leave the workshop with an action plan for their classroom. 

Keynote: Shifting Mindsets: What Educators Can Do To Support English Learners - What must educators learn in order to support emergent bilingual students? Focusing on mindsets, curriculum, and pedagogy, Dr. Nieto will provide both theoretical concepts and practical examples from her many years as a teacher educator working with excellent teachers of students for whom English is an additional language. This keynote will be addressed to classroom teachers, ESL and bilingual specialists, curriculum leaders, administrators, teacher educators, and others interested in, and committed to, the education of English learners. 

Breakout Session: Conversation with Sonia Nieto - Sonia Nieto will begin this informal session with a brief description of her most recent book, Teaching, A Life’s Journey: A Mother-Daughter Dialogue (Teachers College Press, 2019), co-authored with her daughter, Alicia López, a long time French, Spanish, and ELL teacher. Following this, participants are encouraged to bring their questions, comments, and observations concerning the keynote address or any other topics related to it.