A third of students in California’s out-of-school time (OST) programs are multilingual learners, each bringing unique gifts and perspectives to their school communities. CalSAC has updated its highly-rated Multilingual Learner (ML) Training Series to strengthen the OST workforce’s capacity to deliver high-quality, intentional, and inclusive programming that meets the needs of young people who are developing their language skills and learning English. CalSAC is committed to investing in Newcomers and multilingual youth, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, because they are particularly vulnerable to learning loss and other educational disparities. 

Training Opportunities & Costs

By design, high-quality OST programs provide enrichment and encouragement that helps all young people learn and grow. Yet, there is even more that we can do to intentionally reach and support multilingual learners so that they thrive – today and throughout their lifetimes. Luckily, good practices to support MLs are good practices for all young people, making these ML training opportunities an essential resource for all staff!

Funding for professional development, while incredibly important, is also difficult to prioritize during this time, because of the many other needs and requirements of OST programs and school districts. CalSAC has designed their ML professional development with these challenges in mind: thanks to the generous funding of the Emerging Bilingual Collaborative, all ML training will be offered free of charge through June 30, 2022, a value of $350 per training.

Training Content

• Though the ML modules were designed as a series, they have also been updated to make them effective, so that programs who can only schedule one training at a time aren’t excluded from the opportunity to gain these essential skills.
• “Bite-sized” Training Videos: 8 short, 5-minute video segments addressing different strategies and supports for MLs – accessible at any time on CalSAC’s website so that OST practitioners have the flexibility to learn at their own pace and in their own time.
• Coaching and Action Planning Toolkit: Participants will also receive a Coaching and Action-Planning Toolkit after each module to deepen their knowledge, access additional resources, promote staff reflection, and create action plans to integrate learning into their programs.

Access the “Bite-sized” Training Videos below!

Training Modules

Knowing Multilingual Learners
Gain a deeper understanding of the diversity and specific needs of the multilingual learner (ML) population.

Social-Emotional Factors of Multilingual Learners
Strengthen your understanding and practice identifying the most common social-emotional factors that affect Multilingual Learner students and their achievement.

Strategies for Language Development
Review general, research-based strategies to support Multilingual Learners with language development and practice modifying activities to support academics and language development.

Coming Soon to the ML Series!
Three new modules covering topics such as healthy cultural identities, family engagement, and supporting MLs with different language levels.