Summer Institute Day 1, Monday June 16th
The ACE-STEM Summer Institute 2025 started with warm introductions from Dr. Sujin Kim and the ACE-STEM team. Cohort 2 teachers were the stars of Day 1- most of our cohort interactions happen online, so the Summer Institute was an amazing chance for our Cohort 2 teachers to get to know each other in person!
After an engaging ice breaker session, our teachers enjoyed two wonderful panels filled with teachers, leaders, and parents. Ms. Karen Edwards of Benton Middle School, who was a part of Cohort 1, facilitated a panel that explained what Multilingual Family Engagement looked like during their Heritage Night. Following that inspiring panel, our very own Dr. Kathy Ramos led a panel on Multilingual Learner Advocacy in schools, classrooms, and beyond. Many thanks to Dr. Lynmara Colón, Mr. Inmar Romero, Dr. Jenn Santiago, Ms. Lisa Manikas, and Mr. Matt Walker for participating in such an encouraging conversation.
Following thoughtful discussions in small groups during working lunch, 7 of our Cohort 2 teachers presented posters, which provided a view into the meaningful work that they engaged in during the past year.
Thank you to our presenters:
Ms. Lauren Adams
Ms. Polly Johnson
Ms. Cynthia Rodriguez
Ms. Becky Williams
Ms. Kathleen Riddle
Ms. Carmen Rivera-Ayala
Ms. Taylor Yungk
Day 1 then concluded with Cohort 2 participating in an in-person session of their summer course, a conversation between school leaders on their key takeaways, and discussions with our Mentor Coaches. Thank you to everyone for making the first day of the ACE-STEM Summer Institute 2025 a great one! Check out Day 1 highlights below:
Summer Institute Day 2, Tuesday June 17th
The ACE-STEM team welcomed over 140 educator participants on Day 2 of ACE-STEM Summer Institute 2025! Along with our Cohort 2 teachers and Mentor Coaches, many in-service and pre-service teachers, as well as school leaders, joined together for an active day of learning and lively discussions surrounding key ideas for multilingual learners in the STEM and other content classrooms. With Dr. Woomee Kim as our upbeat Summer Institute facilitator and Dr. Sujin Kim, the incredible ACE-STEM project director, we welcomed the audience and instilled them with excitement for the day! Dr. Lynmara Colon, the Director of Student Opportunity and Multilingual Services Department at PWCS, shared an encouraging video greeting and Dr. Joan Kang Shin, the Associate Dean of Faculty Success at GMU, gave welcoming remarks to start the day off strongly.
After greetings, we were treated to a keynote presentation delivered by Dr. Kate Seltzer, Associate Professor of Bilingual and ESL Education at Rowan University. In the keynote, titled Following La Corriente of Translanguaging: Shifts in Perspective and Practice for Emergent Bilingual Students , Dr. Seltzer encouraged teachers to take up a translanguaging stance in the classroom.
Day 2 participants discussed their takeaways and shared how they will apply the knowledge from this amazing presentation over a delicious working lunch.
Following lunch, our very own Dr. Joan Kang Shin energized the audience with her spotlight presentation, titled Get Up and Sing! Engaging Young Learners Through Song. This presentation highlighted how teachers can utilize music in the language learning classroom, as well as uniting all our Day 2 participants with fun songs and simple dances!
In the afternoon, participants had the opportunity to select two of seven 50-minute interactive workshops. These workshops were delivered by Dr. Seltzer, Dr. Santiago, Dr. Shin, our three former cohort teachers: Ms. Karen Edwards, Ms. Angela Speights, Ms. Nancy Scheida with our own Dr. Woomee Kim, and special guest Dr. Greer Mancuso, a Multilingual Learner Specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools. Workshop options included:
Dr. Kate Seltzer
Following La Corriente of Translanguaging: An Open Discussion about Translanguaging in Action
Dr. Jenn Santiago
Supporting Multilingual Learners Through an Equity Lens
Dr. Joan Kang Shin
Navigating Bias in the AI Era: Media Literacy for English Language Educators
Dr. Greer Mancuso
Cultivating Success: How to Engage and Support Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)
Ms. Karen Edwards
Family Transliteracy Partnership – Benton Loves to Read
Ms. Angela Speights
Empowering Multilingual Learners: Infographics in Science Classrooms
Ms. Nancy Schieda & Dr. Woomee Kim
An Eclectic Approach to Teaching Multilingual Learners: A Day in the Life of a Math Educator
The day concluded with reflection from Day 2 participants on what they learned and an opportunity for participants to provide feedback on their Summer Institute experience. Check out Day 2 highlights below:
Summer Institute Day 3, Wednesday June 18th
Despite the rainy weather, nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of our ACE-STEM Summer Institute participants! Day 3 welcomed the same energetic group of participants, who were eager to continue their learning and networking.
After warm welcomes from the ACE-STEM team, the keynote presenter kicked off Day 3. Dr. Zandra de Araujo, the Chief Equity Officer and Math Principal for the Lastinger Center for Learning at the University of Florida gave insight into the multilingual math world with her presentation: Teaching Mathematics with Multilingual Students Isn’t Always Intuitive.
Participants worked in pairs and small groups to explore the role of language in mathematics. Over another delicious lunch, participants discussed key takeaways from Dr. de Araujo’s presentation and shared how they could use what they learned in their own school settings.
After lunch, Mason CEHD’s Dr. Anya Evmenova and Dr. Jered Borup engaged participants in their spotlight presentation: Harnessing the Power of Technology to Benefit All Learners. Through this illuminating presentation, participants learned how technology can benefit multilingual learners in the classroom as well as how they can utilize Universal Design for Learning to benefit all learners.
Day 3 also included a choice of two 50-minute workshops from several options. The workshops were led by Dr. de Araujo, Dr. Evmenova, Dr. Borup, Dr. Manqian Zhao (ACE-STEM faculty), Cohort 1 teacher Ms. Kenya Miles, and special guests Ms. Holly Sawyer, a secondary English Learner teacher and National Board-Certified educator based in Chesapeake, Virginia and Ms. Janira Collado-Toro, a PWCS teacher at Graham Park Middle School and an experienced ESOL educator. Workshop options included:
Dr. Zandra de Araujo
Practical Changes to Capture Student Brilliance
Ms. Holly Sawyer
Try, Fail, Succeed, Repeat: Building Confidence, Taking Risks in STEM
Dr. Anya Evmenova
Supporting All Learners with Universal Design for Learning
Dr. Jered Borup
The Power of Generative AI in the Classroom
Ms. Janira Collado-Toro
“Share Your World With Us”: Using Translanguaging Practices and Funds of Knowledge for the Empowering Creation of Unique Family Storybooks
Dr. Manqian Zhao
“I AM Not a Picky Eater”: Experiencing a Mandarin Lesson Through the Eyes of Multilingual Learners
Ms. Kenya Miles
Tech Tools, Choice, and Voice for Multilingual Learners
The day concluded with continued reflection on Day 3 topics as well as another opportunity for participants to provide feedback. All the ACE-STEM Summer Institute 2025 attendees departed equipped with new knowledge and insights to carry forward into their education spaces and left feeling empowered and motivated to support their multilingual learners. Thank you to all our participants for making the ACE-STEM Summer Institute 2025 an amazing experience! Check out Day 3 highlights below: