Cultivating Equitable and Encouraging Environments for Multilingual Learners with SEEDS
WORKSHOP CONTENT STRAND
Promoting Effective Practice & Instruction
Session Description
California State-funded preschools are now required to ask families which languages preschoolers hear, speak, and understand. The goal is to support students to become bilingual by maintaining their home language while developing their English skills. ©SEEDS of Learning meets this goal by equipping educators with information, knowledge, and tools to support Multilingual Learners (MLs). We will discuss strategies to create a classroom environment that celebrates MLs’ language and lived experiences, promoting a sense of belonging and fostering MLs’ vocabularies and oral language skills by meeting their needs while building on their existing knowledge and strengths.
Speaker(s)
Kamye Hugley
Manager of Training and Development
FluentSeeds
Kamye is a passionate education professional who works to support student-level impact in order for all students to receive an equitable education. Kamye has served as a Head Start Teacher with Broward County Public Schools and as an Intensive Reading Teacher for grades 9, 11, and 12 with The School District of Palm Beach County. As a nonprofit leader, Kamye has coached and trained AmeriCorps members serving across multiple grade levels in delivering quality literacy and math interventions to students. A self-proclaimed bibliophile, she believes early literacy rooted in equity can cultivate young children’s curiosity and positive identity development. Kamye earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Florida and a Master of Science degree inReading (K-12) from Barry University.
Nereyda Hurtado
Coach & Trainer
FluentSeeds
Nereyda Hurtado grew up in Mexico and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Nereyda is a passionate early childhood education professional, committed to efforts to close the opportunity gap by helping children gain the skills necessary to succeed in school and in life.
She started her career as a researcher at Stanford University where she conducted studies on language development and parenting practices with bilingual and Spanish-speaking families in the Bay Area. After a decade, she transitioned to the nonprofit sector where she supported her organization with program development, management, implementation and evaluation. At the same time, Nereyda also worked as a SEEDS coach and trainer for several years, supporting family childcare providers and SEEDS coaches. Nereyda is excited to join the FluentSeeds team and looks forward to building lasting, empowering relationships with early childhood educators while supporting them in their professional growth.