Want to learn how you can support multilingual learners?
Every day, more than five million multilingual learners walk into U.S. classrooms, bringing linguistic assets that can power academic success and global citizenship.
Yet those same students often confront shortages of trained bilingual teachers, fragmented support systems, and policies that lag behind practice. At the Sullivan Family Charitable Foundation (SFCF), our mission is to “bridge cultures and change lives by fostering bilingualism and multilingualism” — a charge we pursue through multi-year, relational grants that strengthen teacher pipelines, leadership capacity, and family engagement.
One of our anchor partners in this work is Ensemble Learning, a nonprofit that has already helped more than 190 schools design equitable learning environments where every emergent bilingual can thrive.
Ensemble’s newest insight piece, “Typical Challenges Multilingual Learners Face and How to Support Them,“ distills both research and classroom wisdom into a roadmap teachers can use tomorrow.
Below is a quick tour of their key findings.
Why this topic matters now
Texas has once again listed Bilingual/ESL as a statewide shortage area for 2024-25, and TEA data show that fewer than one in five uncertified hires ultimately crosses the finish line to licensure.
Innovative “grow-your-own” programs, such as UTSA’s paraprofessional-to-teacher pathway, are promising but still maturing.
In short, the field needs actionable strategies today, which is exactly what Ensemble provides.
Snapshot of the Challenges & Solutions
| Challenge | What Ensemble Recommends |
|---|---|
| Cognitive overload—students must master content and a new language simultaneously. | Integrate language and content with purposeful scaffolds in all four domains—reading, writing, speaking, listening. |
| Uneven proficiency levels in one classroom. | Use color-coded scaffolds, transparent data chats, and small-group rotations to normalize differentiated support. |
| Limited home-school connections when families have restricted English proficiency. | Frame the home language as an asset, provide bilingual communications, and model tech tools that bridge gaps. |
| Assessments that conflate language with content mastery. | Create dual-goal rubrics separating content objectives from language targets, and offer multiple ways to demonstrate learning. |
| Fast-moving AI landscape. | Leverage tools that rewrite text at varied complexity levels or analyze classroom discourse (e.g., Teach FX) while keeping teacher judgment at the center. |
Ensemble’s Vice President of Programs, Katherine Hamilton, also credits a strong classroom culture—what researchers call the “warm-demander” stance—for turning these strategies into sustained growth.
If you’d like an audio deep-dive, Katherine unpacks many of these ideas on The Teacher Hotline podcast, Episode 71.
How Our Partnership Amplifies This Work
Our multi-year grant helps Ensemble Learning scale three levers that align closely with our philanthropic priorities:
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Prepared Teachers. Funds expand instructional-coaching cohorts that equip educators to implement the scaffolds described above.
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Strong Leadership. We underwrite leadership coaching that ensures campus systems (e.g., walkthrough protocols, PLCs) keep multilingual learners at the center.
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Positive School Culture. Our grant supports family-engagement toolkits translated into multiple languages—crucial for honoring every voice in the school community.
Through collaborations like this, the SFCF also advances scholarship opportunities (e.g., University of Maryland’s Dual Language Education certificate) and sector research with The Century Foundation, where I serve as a fellow.
Ready to Support Multilingual Learners?
If you’re a teacher, instructional coach, or district leader looking for concrete steps to elevate multilingual learners, read the complete blog on Ensemble Learning’s site.
It’s a concise, practitioner-friendly guide that pairs beautifully with SFCF’s commitment to equitable, bilingual education.
Cada paso cuenta.
Together we can ensure that language is never a barrier, and always a bridge, to opportunity.
