At my school, where the vast majority of our students come from immigrant, multilingual, and economically marginalized backgrounds, we know that family engagement cannot be just an event, it must be a relationship. That’s why I’ve designed a culturally sustaining community action plan called “Parent School: Leadership and Community Engagement.” This project reimagines family involvement by creating a space where parents are not only welcomed, but valued as leaders, teachers, and decision-makers. Grounded in the principles of culturally sustaining pedagogy, this monthly program recognizes the cultural wealth that families bring and builds a structure where their voices shape the educational experience. Why a Parent School? Too often, immigrant families are left out of school decisions—not because they don’t care, but because traditional systems don’t reflect their languages, values, or realities. As Banks et al. (2025) remind us, when we affirm families' identities and build...

Today I’m sharing an infographic titled “Bridging Cultures: A Strategic Communication Plan for Schools and Families.” It outlines five simple yet powerful strategies to strengthen the relationship between schools and families from diverse cultural backgrounds. From welcome phone calls in the family’s home language to events like Café con las Familias , these ideas can help us build more inclusive, human-centered school communities. Click here to view or download the infographic.

  Watch the video to learn how we can build a more inclusive school community Hello, I’m Dorian Hernández, an ELD and SLA teacher at Montbello Middle School in northeast Denver. I created this short video to share a program proposal that’s very close to my heart: Bridges of Hope. This initiative is designed for newcomer students with interrupted formal education, students who have recently arrived in the U.S., often without speaking English and after months or even years without access to school. Many carry painful migration stories and face academic, social, and emotional challenges. Bridges of Hope centers on: Bilingual peer mentorship Saturday academic support in literacy and math Cultural celebrations and community events A year-long structure to build trust, skills, and belonging We know that when students feel seen, supported, and safe, everything changes. This program is about creating that space for them. Watch the video below to lear...

  Bringing our students’ full linguistic selves into the classroom At Montbello Middle School in northeast Denver, I work with over 200 international students from Latin America, Haiti, the Middle East, and Africa. Every day, these students bring with them stories, languages, and resilience that often go unrecognized in traditional classroom settings. Too often, their learning experiences feel fragmented, and their linguistic and cultural identities are left at the door. That’s why I’m proposing a school-wide shift toward translanguaging , an evidence-based instructional approach that honors our students' full language repertoires. This post outlines how we plan to make this vision a reality. What Is Translanguaging? Translanguaging is more than just code-switching. According to García and Wei (2014), it's a pedagogy that invites students to use all their linguistic resources, Spanish, Marshallese, Dari, Farsi, Haitian Creole, English, to make meaning, express themselve...

    Centering student identity in language development When you walk into my 7th-grade ELD classroom, you’ll hear students talking about their families, their favorite foods, and the stories that shape who they are. That’s intentional. Language learning is never just about grammar or vocabulary, it’s about identity. That’s why when I design a unit, I ask myself: Where do my students see themselves in this lesson? In this post, I’ll share how I adapted a typical middle school English language curriculum to better serve my multilingual learners, students from Mexico, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and beyond by making the content culturally relevant, emotionally engaging, and identity-affirming. Starting with Purpose: SMART Objectives for ELD As part of my instructional planning, I use the WIDA English Language Development standards to guide student outcomes. For this unit, themed “Voices of My Community,” I created these SMART goals: Speaking: Students will express opinion...

  What a Case Study Taught Me About Culturally Responsive Education As educators of multilingual learners, we often focus on methods, materials, and standards. But what happens when students resist those methods, not because they lack motivation, but because the approach doesn’t fit their reality? That question stuck with me after reading a powerful case study on adult Afghan refugee women learning to read in English. The women in the study had no prior literacy, not even in their native language. They joined a community-based ESL program where phonics and basic vocabulary were taught through everyday contexts. Despite their initial progress, the researchers observed moments where the women disengaged. But this resistance wasn’t about laziness or disinterest. It was an act of agency. A message. A form of saying, “This doesn't reflect who I am or how I learn best.”   Key Lessons from the Case Study 1- The study used a qualitative descriptive approach to follow three Afg...

  Insights from a Cross-Cultural Research Journey As an educator of multilingual learners in Denver, I’m constantly searching for ways to make my classroom, and my school, a more inclusive and affirming place. This post is based on my research matrix assignment for the course Cross-Cultural Studies for Teaching Second Language Learners . I reviewed five academic articles on culturally responsive instruction (CRI) to understand what really makes teaching meaningful across cultures. What I discovered is that CRI is not just about good intentions or occasional activities that recognize cultural holidays. It’s about justice, structure, and identity. Real CRI requires a deep commitment to understanding who our students are and what they bring with them, linguistically, culturally, and emotionally. That includes the books we choose, the questions we ask, and the voices we center in our classrooms. What the Research Says Through my research, I found several key patterns: Cultu...

 Una canción que representa mi identidad cultural y lingüística es "América" de Nino Bravo . Esta canción tiene un significado especial para mí porque celebra la belleza y fuerza de los pueblos latinoamericanos, especialmente aquellos que migran buscando un futuro mejor. Como costarricense viviendo en Estados Unidos, me siento profundamente conectado con la letra que habla de cruzar fronteras y mantener viva la esperanza. Me recuerda a mis estudiantes recién llegados, a mi familia, y también a mi propio viaje como educador bilingüe. En cuanto a lo lingüístico, la canción es en español, mi lengua materna. Escucharla me hace sentir orgulloso de hablar español, y también me impulsa a seguir enseñando con el corazón a quienes están aprendiendo inglés. Para mí, esta canción es una forma de afirmar mi identidad como migrante, maestro, y latinoamericano.

  I am enrroled in a Cross Cultural Studies course and as it comes to an end, I’ve found myself reflecting on just how much I’ve grown, both personally and professionally. One of the biggest “ah-ha” moments for me was realizing how deeply rooted our cultural assumptions are, and how they shape the way we show up in our classrooms and interact with our colleagues. I often use the iceberg metaphor when talking about culture, what we see on the surface is just a fraction of the full picture. The beliefs, values, fears, and experiences beneath that surface are harder to notice but deeply powerful. This course reminded me that cross-cultural awareness isn’t something you check off a list. It’s a mindset, one grounded in humility, curiosity, and a willingness to keep learning. One moment that really stuck with me was the  Tell Me Your Story  interview I did with a colleague who shared his journey from Iran to the United States. His story was honest, emotional, and eye-opening. ...

  Earlier this year, I set a simple goal: to meet with a small group of colleagues during lunch or planning periods to share stories about cultural misunderstandings or communication challenges we’ve faced at work. The goal wasn’t to train or fix anything, it was just to create a safe, informal space for honest conversation and reflection. I hoped that by sharing our stories, we could build empathy and start modeling more culturally responsive practices in our school. While I didn’t end up hosting those planned lunch meetings, the spirit of the goal still came to life. Over the past few months, I’ve had deep, meaningful conversations with at least six different teachers about cultural tensions and the importance of understanding different perspectives. These talks didn’t happen in a conference room, they happened in hallways, during transitions, after class, or while packing up at the end of the day. And even though they were casual, they were powerful. They reminded me that real c...

  Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means for schools to be sanctuaries, not just physically safe, but emotionally and culturally safe, too. Working in Montbello, where so many of my students are newcomers navigating a new language, a new culture, and often the trauma of migration, I see every day how much they carry. Some have experienced family separation. Others live in fear of deportation. Many have had their education interrupted for months or even years. As the political climate in the U.S. becomes increasingly hostile toward immigrants, this reality isn’t just a backdrop, it’s the context we’re all living and teaching in. And it’s why I feel an even deeper responsibility to help my students and colleagues feel seen, safe, and supported. One concept that really stood out to me during this course was  culturally sustaining pedagogy . In Module 9, I had the chance to work on a community-centered project that made me reflect deeply on how schools can do more th...