Ongoing professional development on educational and behavioral strategies is critical, but you can also make simple changes in your classroom to support a variety of needs.

• Consistent Visuals: The consistent use of visuals can be a game-changer in supporting students with delayed processing. For example, displaying a classroom schedule and referencing it during activity transitions can decrease behavioral issues. With younger students, this can be simplified or paired with a first/then visual to help students understand when a transition is happening.
• Transitional Cues: Non-verbal transition cues can support students who have difficulty processing language or moving between activities. When an activity is beginning, set a five-minute timer and provide an audio cue paired with a verbal warning. When it’s time to end the activity, use the audio and verbal cue again while referencing the classroom schedule and expectations so students understand what the transition looks like. This can reduce stress for students who experience sensory overload, difficulty transitioning or challenges with processing language.
• Communication: Students with disabilities can be impacted by language delays. Recognize and accept all forms of communication and speak with speech pathologists about ways you can support language development. For example, if a student is using a communication device, find ways to incorporate and model the device. You can even add and reference printed visuals of symbols throughout the classroom to model vocabulary.
• Create Space For Emotional Regulation: Students who experience sensory overload or emotional dysregulation can benefit from a specific location within the classroom they can go to if they need time for regulation. Create a non-verbal system for requesting access to the break area. To help students build emotional regulation skills, model calming strategies throughout the day and invite students to practice with you. You can also add visuals of tools to help students identify what may work for them. The more students practice strategies while regulated, the more likely they will be able to use the strategies when they are needed.
• Universal Tools: Many strategies that support students with diverse needs are helpful for all students. Equip your classroom with tools that can support all learners and allow students to explore and discover what works best. Noise canceling headphones, alternative seating, specialty-lined or highlighted paper, varied writing tools, text to speech, speech to text, access to break areas, and frequent movement breaks are just a few among many tools. Offering support to all students rather than only those with individualized education plans can help create an inclusive atmosphere.

While adding inclusive practices to the classroom does not replace quality training on inclusion and special education, it can be one step in a positive direction for all students to feel welcomed. The addition of universal supports can serve to support all learners, decrease unpleasant behaviors and teach valuable emotional regulation skills.

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1. An Instant Fan Club: Students see themselves in their leaders.

“¡¿Hablas español?!” Those were the very first words a third-grade student asked me when I introduced myself as her new principal. When I shared that I speak Spanish, her smile widened, and she shared the news with every Spanish speaker around her. She couldn’t believe that her new principal spoke her language and was Latina, like her. When students see themselves in their leaders, they dare to aspire and dream. It’s one thing to be told you can be a leader (which isn’t something our linguistically and racially diverse students often hear), but when someone who looks and sounds like you is the leader, the dream becomes tangible!   

2.  I Can Do It: Leaders see themselves in their students.

As a bilingual Latina leader, when I see students who look or sound like me, I see myself in them. I see myself in that quiet student with the shy smile and in that engaged student who asks all the questions. I might be from Puerto Rico while my students are from Kosrae, Afghanistan or Somalia, but there’s something in our shared experiences and humanity that connects us. This kinship has inspired my mission to help every student grow as a leader and scholar in a community that dismantles systems of oppression and nurtures our shared humanity. If I could do it, (learn to read, become a leader, etc.) my mini-me students can do it, too!

3. Like Leader, Like Student: It raises the bar for all educators.

Linguistically and racially diverse educational leaders have a unique perspective. They can break down systems of oppression and guarantee equity by ensuring that all educators bring rigor and high expectations for their students. This includes creating an asset-based culture that changes the narrative from “these students can’t speak English” to “our students are multilingual global citizens and scholars.” By raising the bar and banishing excuses for why students can’t, linguistically and racially diverse educational leaders personify the very reason why students can.

4. Bridging the Divide: Leaders forge trusting relationships with families.

Linguistically and racially diverse educational leaders help bridge the divide between school and home. There is something to be said about being able to communicate directly with someone who understands your language and culture. Interpersonal communication is a challenging skill for many. Add to that the complexity of communicating in another language. Much can be lost in translation. While it’s not my job to serve as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking families, it is an honor for me to forge trusting relationships with them through the beauty of our language.

The best way to create a supportive environment for linguistically and racially diverse students is to provide them with access to adults who look and speak like them. So, school district leaders, hire more linguistically and racially diverse leaders. Make sure you develop a plan to support them after the onboarding process is complete – a sense of belonging is as important to adults as it is to students. And if you’re currently a linguistically and racially diverse educator, look into what you need to make a bigger impact by becoming an educational leader. Education needs you, and so do your students. You are who your students have been waiting for!

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