MID-STATE RBERN
2022
Symposium on Emergent Multilingual Learners in Early Childhood Symposium
Welcome to the Symposium on Emergent Multilingual Learners in Early Childhood website. Thank you for joining us this year.

For materials and recordings, click here. 

Please note: some sessions were not recorded and may not have any resources available.

Questions about registration, attendance, or CTLE credit? Click here for our FAQ document or email us at rbern@ocmboces.org.

Join us for next year’s symposium in February 2023.

Symposium Schedule At-A-Glance
Time Title Presenter
9:00 - 9:45 a.m. Early Childhood Through the Lens of Equity Tanya Amodio-Kovacs,
NYSED Office of Early Learning
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Linguistic Liberation Begins with Early Childhood Education José Medina, Ed.D.,
Educational Solutions
11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Celebrando Afrolatinidad: Texts as Narratives of Resistance, & Liberation Mario Palma, M.S. Ed.,
American Reading Company
12:45 - 1:45 p.m. The Bilingual Advantage: Teaching Bilingual Learners with Disabilities Diane Rodriguez, Ph.D.,
Fordham University
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Creating Language-Enriched Learning Spaces for Bilingual Children Stephanie McMillen, Ph.D.,
Syracuse University
3:15 - 4:15 p.m. Early Literacy & ELLs Jennifer Raponi,
Mid-West RBERN
4:30 - 6:00 p.m. Teacher Wellness as a Lever for Equitable Classrooms & Schools Kelley Burt,
Equitable Early Learning Solutions
Symposium Schedule
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
9:00 - 9:45 a.m.
Early Childhood Through the Lens of Equity
Tanya Amodio-Kovacs, Associate, NYSED Office of Early Learning
Early childhood is the most formative time. It's the birthplace of individuality. This welcoming message is an invitation to think about early childhood through a lens of equity and how we have a significant role in helping young children become comfortable and proud of who they are. This message calls for a renewal of our commitment to educate all young children and provide real opportunities for success.
To Register, Click Here
10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Keynote

Linguistic Liberation Begins with Early Childhood Education
José Medina, Ed.D., Educational Solutions
Culturally and linguistically diverse students deserve access to grade level standards regardless of language proficiency in the language of instruction. So often, students are asked to inhabit a learning environment that is English-centric. Acknowledging that linguistic oppression is present in all U.S. classrooms, including those in early childhood, is the first step in engaging in the daily work of linguistic liberation.
To Register, Click Here
11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Celebrando Afrolatinidad: Texts as Narratives of Resistance and Liberation
Mario Palma, M.S. Ed., American Reading Company
As educators build equitable systems to ensure academic success for Multilingual Learners, the need to develop socio-political awareness, and socio-cultural competence increases. Join this interactive session to explore texts as anti-racism tools through the lens of Afrolatinaje. Content applicable to 2nd-5th grade in Spanish and English will be provided. Learning Objective: Explore ways to engage in anti-racism and equity work through text selection, discussion, and writing.
To Register, Click Here
12:45 - 1:45 p.m.
The Bilingual Advantage: Teaching Bilingual Learners with Disabilities
Diane Rodriguez, Ph.D., Fordham University
This session considers diverse perspectives in teaching bilingual learners with disabilities in early learning. Instructional methods will be re-conceptualized in terms of curricula, course content, and evaluations with a focus on practical applications for successfully teaching in a bilingual special education classroom.
To Register, Click Here
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Creating Language-Enriched Learning Spaces for Bilingual Children
Stephanie McMillen, Ph.D., Syracuse University
In this presentation, we discuss how to create language-enriched spaces to support bilingual development. Parents and teachers are often the first to notice that children are experiencing difficulty learning language. We discuss the red flags for developmental language disorder, as well as how to connect with your local speech-language pathologist. Learning outcomes include: 1. Describe methods for supporting bilingual language development, 2. Identify red flags for language impairment in bilingual children, 3. Discuss collaboration with parents and professionals.
To Register, Click Here
3:15 - 4:15 p.m.
Early Literacy and ELLs
Jennifer Raponi, Mid-West RBERN
This presentation discusses early literacy development and specific needs of ELLs learning to read.
To Register, Click Here
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Teacher Wellness as a Lever for Equitable Classrooms and Schools
Kelley Burt, Equitable Early Learning Solutions
Equity in education requires focus on a variety of systemic issues and policies, including how we support and care for those that are on the ground doing the work. This session will spend time discussing the importance of adult social and emotional learning to our own self-care and mental health and wellbeing, as well as looking at the way in which our school buildings address community care, or the systemic approaches to educator wellness.
To Register, Click Here
A special thanks to:
• Our speakers for dedicating their time and sharing their expertise
• OCM BOCES Marketing Department for their work in creating and maintaining this site

From the conference chair
I would like to send out an extra special thanks to my fellow Mid-State RBERN team members for their unending support throughout the planning of this symposium every year. I simply cannot do it without them!