First Ever Biliteracy Institute Held at CCSD59
This summer CCSD59 held its first Biliteracy Institute. Over the course of three days, Cheryl Urow and Karen Beeman, authors of the book Teaching for Biliteracy, presented content relative to both Biliteracy and Dual Language Programs.
Fifty CCSD59 staff members attended, including not only elementary and junior high teachers, but also resource teachers, coaches, speech pathologists, and administrators.
In addition to engaging with and enjoying perspectives of other staff members, attendees left the Biliteracy Institute equipped with learnings on how to more effectively support CCSD59’s second-language learners.
A wide range of language teaching strategies were modeled for staff members to use with bilingual and dual language program students. Emphasis was placed on the importance of celebrating the students’ diversity in both language and culture, and how to bring their valuable experiences into classrooms in support of their ongoing development.
