Start with Clarity: Your First Step Toward Supporting Multilingual Learners
By Nicole Teyechea, Phd | Executive Director | www.finita.org
Most schools do not lack effort; they lack alignment.
When supporting multilingual learners (MLs), schools often juggle disconnected initiatives, compliance checklists, and fragmented instructional strategies. Leaders know their teams care deeply, yet results remain inconsistent. Why?
Because clarity has not been established.
Before implementing another tool, launching a new framework, or scheduling another round of professional development, pause. Start with a Health Check.
What is the ML Health Check?
The ML Health Check is a short, strategic self-assessment designed for teacher leaders and instructional teams. It helps:
Identify where clarity is strong and where it is missing
Diagnose alignment across classrooms and leadership
Reveal which supports are present, visible, and used intentionally
It is not about evaluation or compliance. It is a starting point for focused and aligned action.
Why This is the First Step
You cannot align what you have not named.
Without alignment, schools often reinforce the wrong things. While energy is spent trying to improve student outcomes, the root issues—such as misaligned instruction, unclear expectations, and unsupported adult learning—remain unaddressed.
The truth is simple:
When adults have clarity, multilingual learners need less reinforcement.
When teachers are clear about what to teach, how to scaffold instruction, and how to measure progress, multilingual learners experience:
Increased access to grade-level content
Reduced reliance on pull-out or intervention support
Stronger language development within core instruction
The Health Check offers a mirror, not a mandate. It helps teacher leaders determine whether current systems support equitable instruction or simply react to student gaps.
Why This Matters Now
With funding for multilingual learners decreasing in many districts, schools can no longer depend on temporary support programs or additional staffing to fill instructional gaps. The most sustainable investment is not in more resources but in creating clarity for the educators already leading classrooms.
Clarity is not a buzzword. It is a strategy.
Use with Teacher Leaders and Teachers
Although the ML Health Check is designed for instructional leaders, it can also be used with classroom teachers. When both groups complete the check, school leaders gain valuable insight into how well the instructional vision is aligned between leadership and teaching staff.
This dual perspective helps:
Uncover disconnects between leadership expectations and classroom practice
Strengthen collaboration around shared goals
Build trust by inviting reflection from both roles
What Comes Next
Once completed, the Health Check provides:
A quadrant snapshot based on clarity and consistency
A strategic entry point into the Catalyst for Learning™ systemPractical tools and scaffolds that support aligned adult learning
Ready to Lead What Matters?
Take the ML Health Check today.
When we invest in adult clarity, we create a path for every multilingual learner to succeed through core instruction, not intervention.
Let what you have be enough. Finita makes it work.
