The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Office of Teaching and Learning is proud to announce a new three-part professional learning series designed for educators working with multilingual learners (MLs) who are enrolling in a Maine high school for the first time.

This interactive series will support high school-based teams in building inclusive, responsive systems that address the unique needs of multilingual students. Focus areas include English language development (ELD) instruction, content-area learning with integrated language supports, opportunities to showcase multilingual abilities, and advisory structures that emphasize high support and meaningful family engagement.

What to Expect: Throughout the series, participants will engage in collaborative discussions, explore real-life scenarios, and analyze models that support successful transitions for multilingual students entering high school. Guest speakers will offer expert insights and lived experiences to deepen collective understanding.

Session Overview

• Session 1 (May 1, 2025): Introduction and overview of state and federal guidelines related to high school enrollment for multilingual learners
• Session 2 (June 3, 2025): Goal setting for students who are new to English, including opportunities to pursue the Seal of Biliteracy
• Session 3 (June 17, 2025): Strengthening student and family engagement with a focus on college and career readiness pathways

Who Should Attend: This series is ideal for high school-level educators and staff, including:

• English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers
• School counselors
• Social workers
• Content-area teachers
• Administrators and school leaders

Program Details

• Format: Virtual and interactive; each session will run from 3–4:30 p.m.
• Opportunities for pre- and post-webinar learning
• Nine contact hours for entire series participation

Registration Information: Participants are encouraged to register as a team, ideally including an ESOL teacher, school counselor, and administrator. Register here to participate in all three sessions.

Meet the Facilitator: This series will be facilitated by Jen Lunt, a 2024–2025 Teacher Leader Fellow with the Maine DOE. Lunt is a seasoned educator and passionate advocate for MLs, with a focus on supporting smooth transitions and fostering inclusive, student-centered environments. Lunt has also developed an asynchronous resource, Orientation Checklist for New Multilingual Students. Check out the video and one-pager.

If you’re unable to attend this live professional learning series but would like to continue building your skills, Maine educators have access to asynchronous learning through the WIDA Consortium, of which Maine is a member. All Maine pre-service and in-service educators can access these resources by creating a WIDA Secure Portal account. To get started, visit Maine’s WIDA state page. To obtain a new login, contact help@wida.us or call (866) 276-7735. Once you have a WIDA Secure Portal account, you will be able to access a variety of self-paced professional learning modules.

For questions, please contact Jane Armstrong (Jane.Armstrong@maine.gov) or Melanie Junkins (Melanie.Junkins@maine.gov).