Illinois Resource Center

YouTube video by Headline USA Jesse Jackson 'I Am Somebody' on Sesame Street

We join our community in mourning the Rev. Jesse Jackson and reflecting on his work for a more just future.

His empowering appearance on Sesame Street, where he encouraged children of all backgrounds and languages to declare "I Am Somebody," still resonates today.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuZV...

An invigorating precon from our own @mrsspinasclass.bsky.social at NABE! We talked finding glimmers, responsive strategies to support newcomers & connected with educators from across the country. A galvanizing reminder, in this challenging time, that we are not alone in this work!

Come connect with our CSEL team at #IDEACon this week! We love this dynamic conference packed with innovative spirit (and fun swag)! Thank you @ideaillinois.bsky.social for having us!

Meet Celimar Rivera Cosme: The Puerto Rican Sign Language Performer Joining Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl Bad Bunny is brining along Celimar Rivera Cosme—a Puerto Rican Deaf performer and sign language interpreter—to the Super Bowl halftime show. She won't just interpret his lyrics; she'll perform them.

We're still buzzing over the Bad Bunny Bowl and the pride and celebration of multilingualism we're seeing all over the place in the wake of that exciting halftime show, including the highlighting of Puerto Rican Sign Language (LSPR) & the work of Celimar Rivera Cosme.

parade.com/news/meet-ce...

Are you an educator or administrator who leads the ACCESS testing process in your school? If so, this weekend's webinar with Shadia Salem is for you! Learn effective instructional practices to support student success with ACCESS. RSVP on the IRC website!

A screenshot of my slides for Spanish class. On the left is a photo of a globe with North and South America in focus. The question “who are the people of the Americas?” wraps around the globe. In the right is an embedded YouTube clip of Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl halftime show in which he says “God Bless America” and then proceeds to name the different countries in north, south, and Central America.

The essential question that guides my 5th grade Spanish class is “Who are the people of the Americas?” so of course I added a clip of Bad Bunny naming all of the places in the “Americas” in my slides this morning.

Excited to see the further evolution of our collaboration with Math For All manifest in this blog for #MathMonday: mathforall.edc.org/planning-for...

For the final keynote of #MultilingualIL25, we were honored to welcome Dr. Lynmara Colón, school administrator, leader and author.

For more from Dr. Colón, check out her recent EdWeek article: www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...

Please note the following last-minute #MultilingualIl25 session change.

We were incredibly lucky to welcome @hookertech.bsky.social of K12Leaders.com as a keynote speaker for #MultilingualIL25. He created a space for educators to have a thoughtful, informative and thoroughly entertaining conversation about AI in the classroom. Thank you, Carl!

Spending extra time translating their work. Cultural code-switching. Flexibly adapting. Serving as interpreter for caregivers.

What else do our multilingual learners know that they may not get credit for? Some lunchtime food for thought from @maestraolivia.bsky.social at #MultilingualIL25!

We're only on the first afternoon of #MultilingualIL25, and it's already been a memorable, informative convening! In addition to gaining strategies and resources from AI to understanding Gen-Z, hundreds of educators are connecting & showing off their multilingual pride!

We had an invigorating start to #MultilingualIL25 this morning with an engaging keynote from @mrsspinasclass.bsky.social. Carly encouraged the packed house to lean into connections, to embrace linguistic evolution, and reminded us that "the good is still happening every day." Thank you, Carly!

Our team is hard at work getting ready to welcome more than 2,000 educators for the Multilingual Illinois Statewide Conference! We look forward to learning, connecting & celebrating with our community.

Why Bilingual Kids Have a Learning Advantage Bilingual children gain more than a second language. New research shows that speaking two languages strengthens memory, reasoning, and adaptability.

Another recent study showcases how bilingual students excel in reasoning, memory, and problem-solving skills, and how speaking multiple languages can foster understanding, empathy and respect:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psyched/202510/why-bilingual-kids-have-a-learning-advantage

Happy American Education Week! To the many teachers — not to mention school support staff, administrators, paraprofessionals & many others — who make our school communities go, we see you and we appreciate you!

Are the shorter days getting you down? Seeking something to reenergize you? Get that creative spark back at IRC Specialist Olivia Mulcahy's supportive Free Write sessions! RSVP at the IRC website.

4 YA Novels for Native American Heritage Month Native American Heritage Month, celebrated in November, celebrates the rich histories, cultures, achievements, and stories of Indigenous peoples across the United States. Share these four YA titles, all with Indigenous protagonists, with young readers in time for NAHM and anytime during the year.

It's #FavoriteBookFridays! Sharing this great new list from School Library Journal with four current, engaging YA titles telling Indigenous stories, perfect for young readers in November and beyond! https://www.slj.com/story/4-ya-novels-for-native-american-heritage-month

Today is World Kindness Day! Check out this thread of ideas of how to celebrate kindness by teachers, for teachers:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/1111pe2/random_acts_of_kindness_week/

If there's one thing educators love, it's talking about books! Book enthusiasts won't want to miss the featured session on Tuesday, 12/9 at Multilingual IL, where IRC Specialist Maggie Essig takes you through must-haves for your classroom library!

tinyurl.com/MultilingualIL25

At last year's Multilingual IL conference, IRC Director Josie Yanguas was presented with a beautiful quilt featuring past conference themes! How many of these do you remember? Share your memories with us & RSVP to make some new memories at this year's conference!

tinyurl.com/MultilingualIL25

Simple Ways Schools Can Support Students Who Translate at Home Many multilingual children serve as “little interpreters” for their families, balancing translation duties with schoolwork. Schools can ease this burden by offering support, validation, and inclusion.

Multilingual students often serve as interpreters for their parents & caregivers. Here's some simple ways schools can help support & empower children who take on this role:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/empowering-children-of-immigrants/202510/simple-ways-schools-can-support-students-who

No matter what you're interested in or seeking support with, from AI to MTSS, assessment to family engagement, you can find ideas, resources and sessions from among the 120 breakouts at Multilingual IL next month! Register today!

tinyurl.com/MultilingualIL25

IDEACon, sponsored by the Illinois Digital Educators Alliance, is one of our favorite education conferences to attend. Join the IDEA team and a host of dynamic presenters in Schaumburg this February!

https://web.cvent.com/event/7eae65c8-c5de-4bec-a756-3fa21074bf95/register

Native Histories: Maximizing this Mandate for Multilingual Learners (Multilingual IL Dec 2024) Native Histories: Maximizing This Mandate for Multilingual Learners Olivia Mulcahy, Illinois Resource Center Multilingual Illinois - December, 2024

IRC Specialist Olivia Mulcahy created an incredible guide to teaching Native stories & histories, not just in November, including some amazing bilingual books. Check it out! #ToolkitTuesday https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1x_X6RNxhkoMvTlZn56_rFWK5nazfv84tOrW7OiAiDhc/edit

Just a month to go until our 2025 Multilingual IL Statewide Conference! Don't miss three days of more than 120 speakers and infinite opportunities to learn, connect & support your multilingual students!

https://tinyurl.com/MultilingualIL25

High energy, high engagement, high impact instruction | Ellevation Watch our product overview to learn how Ellevation can streamline workflows and improve support for ELs in your district Watch video

A little #MondayMotivation from IRC Specialist Carly Spina with this featured post on energy & engagement from the ELLevation blog: https://ellevationeducation.com/blog/high-energy-high-engagement-high-impact-instruction

Join Chicago CIRR for a Know Your Rights Training for Parents and Schools on Thursday, November 13th at 6pm! This virtual event is for CPS parents and schools to learn about recent immigration updates, how to create an Emergency Family Plan, & more.

bit.ly/CIRRKYR

Whether you're welcoming SLIFE for the first time or have years of experience with this student population, you will gain new insights, resources and practices to support SLIFE in next week's webinar with Carly Spina! RSVP on the IRC website.

In honor of both #FavoriteBookFridays and Native American Heritage Month, a fantastic list of picture books and graphic novels w/Indigenous protagonists:

https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/25-picture-books-graphic-novels-and-more-with-indigenous-protagonists-for-young-readers-of-all-ages