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Breaking California’s Long-Term English Learner Cycle: From Effective Scaffolds to Student Independence
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EDT
Breaking California’s Long-Term English Learner Cycle: From Effective Scaffolds to Student Independence
Presented by Maria Cieslak, Associate Director of Professional Development Content, Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL); Dr. Jenni Trujillo, Director, Triangle Learning Community; and Dr. Kia Johnson, Senior Director, PreK-12 Professional Development and Evaluations, Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL)
Sponsored by Vista, the K-12 division of Vista Higher Learning
Learn more about earning a CE certificate and our accessibility features.
Long-Term English Learners (LTELs) represent one of the most pressing challenges facing California schools. While many multilingual learners develop strong social language skills, they often need more intentional opportunities to build the academic language, confidence, and independence required for reclassification and long-term academic success.
Watch this edWebinar with Dr. Kia Johnson, Senior Researcher at the Center for Applied Linguistics, for a thought-provoking discussion with Dr. Jenni Trujillo, multilingual education expert and curriculum author, and Maria Cieslak, Associate Director of Professional Development Content for the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL). Together, they explore practical strategies for supporting multilingual learners through rigorous instruction, meaningful access, and purposeful scaffolding aligned with California's English Learner Roadmap Principle 2: Intellectual Quality of Instruction and Meaningful Access. This topic and framework were developed through the team's edWebinar planning discussions and storyboard materials.
In this session, the presenters discuss:
- Common factors that contribute to Long-Term English Learner status
- The difference between effective scaffolds and over-scaffolding
- How to gradually release responsibility and foster student independence
- Strategies for developing oral language, academic language, and higher-order thinking skills
- Practical ways to maintain high expectations while ensuring access for multilingual learners
- Leadership actions that can help schools and districts improve outcomes and accelerate pathways to reclassification
Through personal stories, research-informed insights, classroom examples, audience polls, and interactive discussion, viewers will gain actionable ideas for supporting multilingual learners at every stage of language development. The session is designed for district leaders, site administrators, EL coordinators, instructional coaches, and classroom educators committed to creating equitable learning environments where multilingual learners can thrive.
Viewers will leave with practical strategies they can immediately apply to strengthen instruction, build student agency, and help break the LTEL cycle. This recorded edWebinar will be of interest to K-12 district leaders, principals, EL coordinators, instructional coaches, and educators supporting multilingual learners.
About the Presenters
Trilingual in Polish, English, and Spanish, Maria Cieslak is a former NV and IL educator and professional developer who has taught kindergarten through eighth grade as a bilingual, ESL, and general education teacher. In addition to her varied and extensive teaching and instructional coaching background of 20+ years, Maria is nationally board certified in English as a New Language Ages 3-12. Currently, Maria is a Ph.D. student at Walden University, specializing in assessment, evaluation, and accountability. Just prior to working for CAL, Maria was a PreK-12 Project Facilitator in the English Language Learner Division in Clark County School District, the fifth-largest school district in the United States.
Dr. Jenni Trujillo has worked as an educator for 25 years in English learner and multilingual learner education, with roles spanning classroom teacher, EL/bilingual director, college professor, author, and education leader. Growing up in an immigrant, Spanish-speaking home, she has a lifelong passion for languages and educational equity. Her publications include an EL literacy program used to teach English in 26 states and five countries, as well as four textbooks and a newcomer curriculum for early elementary through high school with Vista Higher Learning. She has worked with teachers and students in the Southwest and Navajo Nation through a Native American Teacher Education Outreach Program and taught English through a service-learning program in Bahía de Kino, Sonora, Mexico.
Dr. Trujillo served as National Director of English Language Acquisition for Pearson Education, working with educators in 40 states and 11 countries, and later as Director of English Language Learner Initiatives at Learning in Motion in Santa Cruz, California. There, her work included EL literacy instruction, a large-scale mathematics research project with the American Institutes for Research, and STEM curriculum development with Stanford University. Most recently, Dr. Trujillo served as Dean of Education at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, a Native American-Serving Nontribal Institution, where she supported Native American language revitalization and educator preparation work with Navajo (Diné), Ute, and Tsimshian communities. Under her leadership and in collaboration with her team, Fort Lewis College’s undergraduate teacher preparation program earned an A+ from the National Council on Teacher Quality for preparing future elementary teachers to teach reading. She has also held leadership roles in state and regional efforts to diversify the educator workforce and has expanded dual-enrollment and Early College pathways for high school students.
Dr. Kia Johnson is Senior Director of PreK–12 Professional Development and Evaluations at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), where she leads research-based training, coaching, and evaluation initiatives that strengthen instructional practices and program quality for multilingual learners. She has more than 17 years of experience as an educator, leader, and policy specialist, having served as an ESL teacher, department chair, and English Learner Assessment and Title III Specialist at the Virginia Department of Education. In that role, she oversaw statewide implementation of WIDA’s assessments and Title III compliance for Virginia’s 115,000 English learners. Her research, which examines the leadership practices of EL Program Directors in low-incidence districts, reflects her commitment to equity-centered leadership and integrating language, identity, and culture into instructional systems. Dr. Johnson holds a doctorate in educational leadership for social justice from Loyola Marymount University.
Join the Helping ELL, ESL, and Bilingual Students Succeed community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.
Learn more about earning a CE certificate and our accessibility features.
Vista, the K–12 division of Vista Higher Learning, is a leading publisher and edtech provider solely dedicated to language and literacy instruction. For more than 25 years, the company has partnered with educators to create and deliver innovative print and digital solutions that empower diverse learners, develop language and literacy, and promote intercultural understanding. Vista remains committed to its mission of transforming lives through language and literacy. For more information, visit VistaHigherLearning.com.
