Friday, May 15, 2026
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Registration
May 15, 7:00am – 8:00am60 minMain Foyer -
Instrucción estructurada de la LECTOESCRITURA en español
Sponsored by Werling Nexus (Diamond) Sponsored SessionsAlejandra Benitez Lead
May 15, 9:40am – 10:50am70 minMesquite (Level: 2nd Floor, Cap 45)Show details
Descubre cómo enseñar la lectoescritura en español de forma explícita, sistemática y efectiva. A través de una secuencia progresiva de habilidades —conciencia fonológica, fonética, fluidez, vocabulario, comprensión y escritura— aprenderás a apoyar a los estudiantes desde las etapas iniciales de alfabetización hasta estudiantes mayores con retos en lectoescritura. Los participantes aprenderán a usar evaluaciones y datos para guiar la instrucción y brindar intervenciones efectivas en aulas bilingües. Saldrás con herramientas prácticas que impulsarán la biliteracidad, la confianza académica y un ambiente inclusivo y motivador para todos tus estudiantes. -
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Beyond the hype: AI Empowers Campeones del Lenguaje to Rise
Technology in Bilingual/ESL ClassroomsElmer Castro Lead
May 15, 9:45am – 10:40am55 minHickory (Level: 2nd Floor, Cap 35)Show details
Artificial intelligence is increasingly present in classrooms, yet many bilingual and ESL educators are unsure how to use it in ways that meaningfully support language development and accountability measures such as TELPAS. This session focuses on everyday uses of AI tools (e.g., NotebookLM) to strengthen listening, speaking, reading, and writing in bilingual, dual language, and ESL settings.
Grounded in translanguaging and culturally sustaining practices, the session demonstrates how AI can function as a language scaffold, not a shortcut, supporting academic language growth. Participants will analyze classroom-ready examples that align to TELPAS proficiency descriptors and preserve instructional rigor and assessment integrity.
Attendees will leave with practical strategies for using AI to amplify student voice, increase access to grade-level content, and center lenguaje, cultura, y comunidad as students continue to rise as campeones de lenguaje. -
Culture as Curriculum: Belonging Through Story, Culture, and Arts Integration
Culturally Relevant & Sustaining PedagogyBernadette Peña Lead
May 15, 9:45am – 10:40am55 minMedina (Level: 1st Floor, Cap 40)Show details
This presentation guides participants through a culturally relevant, arts integrated approach to teaching that positions story, culture, and community as central to learning in bilingual, dual language, and ESL classrooms. The presentation introduces key concepts on cultural memory, family stories, and the Mexican American identity. The session demonstrates how culture can function as a curriculum to nurture belonging and multicultural identity. Participants will then engage in a hands-on arts activity that models how storytelling, visual expression, and cultural artifacts can deepen language development, affirm lived experiences, and strengthen classroom community. By the end of the session, educators will leave with practical strategies that uplift students’ linguistic and cultural assets. Participants will experience strategies that position culture as curriculum and create learning environments where students feel seen, valued, and connected. -
AI + ELPS: Streamlining Instructional Planning for EBs
Technology in Bilingual/ESL ClassroomsDelia Reveles Gauna Lead
May 15, 10:55am – 12:05pm70 minHickory (Level: 2nd Floor, Cap 35)Show details
This session will demonstrate how to use AI to streamline planning and design instruction that support emergent bilinguals’ language development. By pairing practical AI workflows with explicit ELPS alignment, teachers can produce clear objectives, scaffolded lesson steps, and quick formative checks that elevate instruction and support students’ growth. -
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Short Constructed Responses Across Various Content Areas
Culturally Relevant & Sustaining PedagogyMaribel Faz Lead with Ksenia Pircher
May 15, 10:55am – 11:50am55 minMedina (Level: 1st Floor, Cap 40)Show details
This session focuses on strengthening short constructed responses across content areas in bilingual, dual language, and ESL classrooms. Participants will explore practical, research-based strategies—such as CER frameworks, sentence stems, and language scaffolds—that support students in developing academic language and expressing their thinking in both English and Spanish. Grounded in research that highlights the connection between oral language and writing development (Cummins, 2000; Zwiers, 2008), this session equips educators to build confident communicators. Aligned with the theme “Still We Rise: Campeones de lenguaje, la cultura, y la comunidad,” the presentation empowers students as language champions, honors their cultural and linguistic identities, and fosters strong classroom communities. -
The Transformative Power of Bilingual and Higher Education
Featured SessionsDr. Jose Luis Zelaya Lead
May 15, 10:55am – 12:05pm70 minMesquite (Level: 2nd Floor, Cap 45)Show details
This session provides an interactive and engaging learning experience focused on the transformative power of bilingualism in the lives of newcomer and emergent bilingual students. Participants will explore how bilingualism strengthens cognitive development, academic success, perseverance, and long-term aspirations, while also serving as a foundation for belonging and empowerment in schools. Together, we will examine common challenges educators face when supporting bilingual learners, including limited instructional time, pressures to accelerate English acquisition, and systems that unintentionally devalue students’ home language. Using a strengths-based and research-informed approach, participants will reflect on how to shift classroom practices toward affirming language, culture, and student voice. Educators will leave with practical strategies and tools that can be implemented strategically, including methods to increase academic discourse, elevate multilingual engagement, and create safe learning environments where students’ native language and cultural assets are embraced as essential resources. This session will inspire participants to reimagine English language acquisition as a powerful pathway to leadership, opportunity, and generational success. -
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“Más que Palabras: Teaching Beyond the Textbook”
Culturally Relevant & Sustaining PedagogyVeronica Sanchez- Saenz Lead
May 15, 1:35pm – 2:45pm70 minMedina (Level: 1st Floor, Cap 40)Show details
This session explores how secondary Spanish classrooms (Levels 2–AP) can serve as transformative spaces where bilingualism and biliteracy are positioned as assets, not deficits. Grounded in the work of Gloria Ladson-Billings and Django Paris, participants will examine how Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Pedagogy empowers emergent bilinguals to develop academic excellence, cultural competence, and critical consciousness.
Through concrete classroom examples tailored specifically to Spanish 2, Spanish 3, and AP Spanish Language courses, attendees will learn how to design identity-centered projects, community-based research tasks, AP-style cultural comparisons, and advocacy-driven assessments that amplify student voice.
Participants will leave with ready-to-implement strategies that integrate proficiency-based instruction with culturally responsive teaching practices, creating inclusive and affirming learning environments where students rise as champions of language, culture, and community. -
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Voices Unlocked: Creating Digital Escape Rooms for Bilingual Classrooms
Technology in Bilingual/ESL ClassroomsLinda Esmeralda Villareal Lead
May 15, 1:45pm – 2:40pm55 minHickory (Level: 2nd Floor, Cap 35)Show details
This interactive session demonstrates how to design escape rooms that combine digital platforms such as Google tools, Flippity, and Genially with hands on paper puzzles placed around the classroom to create engaging content review experiences for bilingual, dual language, and ESL classrooms.
Participants will first experience an escape room from the student perspective. The second portion of the session will guide educators step-by-step through the design process, equipping them with practical tools and templates to immediately implement escape rooms in their own classrooms. Aligned with the theme “Still We Rise: Campeones de lenguaje, la cultura, y la comunidad,” this session demonstrates how collaborative learning empowers students to rise as champions of their languages. -
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Beyond Handwriting: Recognizing Dysgraphia in Emergent Bilingual Students
Technology in Bilingual/ESL ClassroomsJulissa Romero Lead with Lucia Cintron
May 15, 2:55pm – 3:50pm55 minHickory (Level: 2nd Floor, Cap 35)Show details
Dysgraphia is far more than messy handwriting, and for emergent bilingual students, it can be even harder to see. This session explores how motor coordination challenges, spelling difficulties, disorganized written expression, and the complexities of second language acquisition can combine to obscure a very real learning difference. This presentation equips educators with the knowledge and tools to identify dysgraphia through a culturally and linguistically informed lens, ensuring that no student's struggles are dismissed as simply part of 'learning the language.' -
Still We Rise: Teaching Hispanic Leaders Through Culturally Sustaining Practices
Culturally Relevant & Sustaining PedagogyAngélica Nieto Lead with Dr. Claudia Treviño García
May 15, 2:55pm – 3:50pm55 minMedina (Level: 1st Floor, Cap 40)Show details
Participants will explore instructional strategies that move beyond traditional textbook-based instruction through the use of student-centered, interactive social studies learning centers. These centers engage students in investigating influential Hispanic figures while developing literacy, critical thinking, and cultural awareness.
The session will feature a classroom-ready example that demonstrates how inquiry, discussion, and culturally relevant texts can foster deeper engagement and affirm students’ cultural and linguistic identities. Participants will also learn how to design cross-curricular lessons that integrate social studies with literacy development in bilingual and dual language classrooms.
Educators will leave with practical strategies for creating culturally sustaining learning experiences that elevate historically underrepresented voices and empower emergent bilingual students to see themselves as leaders, scholars, and advocates within their communities. -
Cultivating Bilingual Teacher Leaders in Community
Administrator/ AdvocacyDr. Karina Villa Lead with Dr. Lorena Claeys, Mpa, Ms. Christina King, M.a., Mrs. Renee Tondre-garza, M.a., Lpc Dr. Claudia Garcia-treviño, M.a. Sr. Alejandra Treviño, Fma, M.ed
May 15, 2:55pm – 4:05pm70 minMesquite (Level: 2nd Floor, Cap 45)Show details
This session invites participants to rise together as champions of language, culture, and community by exploring the Culturally Efficacious Signature Teacher Residency (CESTR) pathway developed through the Academy for Teacher Excellence Research Center at UT San Antonio. Participants will learn how the pathway creates accessible routes for paraprofessionals, teaching assistants, and community members to become bilingual certified educators through residency-based clinical experiences, mentorship, and culturally sustaining pedagogies.
Presenters will share practical resources and tools that support aspiring bilingual teachers, including TExES preparation strategies, career transition guidance, and mentorship supports that strengthen educator readiness and confidence. The session will also highlight how Grow-Your-Own partnerships between universities, schools, and communities fortify bilingual teacher pipelines while affirming the linguistic and cultural assets emergent bilingual students bring to the classroom.
Attendees will leave with actionable strategies for designing culturally sustaining teacher pathways that empower educators to champion language, culture, and community in their schools.