Unlocking High-Quality Materials: Why Implementation Matters for Emergent Bilinguals in Texas

Many Texas districts have taken an important first step by selecting high-quality instructional materials (HQIM). The real work—and the greatest opportunity for impact—begins after adoption.

This webinar focuses on what happens once materials are in place: how districts move from selection to consistent, high-quality implementation that ensures emergent bilingual students experience rigorous, grade-level content and meaningful language development every day.

Grounded in ELSF’s Materials Must-Haves, this session examines how district and campus leaders can align professional learning, instructional expectations, coaching, and monitoring systems so HQIM translates into coherent classroom practice across literacy (ELA and Spanish Language Arts) and math.

Participants will explore what effective implementation looks like in Texas classrooms, how leaders support educators through change, and how districts ensure materials are used as intended—without watering down rigor or language demands for multilingual learners.

This session focuses on how districts operationalize ELSF’s Materials Must-Haves during implementation, including:

• Ensuring educators understand where and how academic language, literacy skills, and mathematical reasoning are built into adopted materials
• Using observation tools, planning artifacts, and student work to assess fidelity and responsiveness for emergent bilingual learners
• Embedding instructional routines that center discourse, collaboration, and language use as essential components of HQIM implementation

The webinar will highlight:

• What strong HQIM implementation looks like in Texas classrooms
• How the Materials Must-Haves come to life during planning, instruction, and monitoring
• How to use observation tools, planning artifacts, and student work to assess fidelity and responsiveness for emergent bilingual learners
• Leadership moves and systems that support consistent implementation across bilingual, ESL, and dual language settings
• Lessons learned from a Texas district navigating HQIM implementation

Speakers:

• Dr. Chalon Jones, ELSF Instructional Specialist
• Michael Ruiz, Executive Director of Elementary Teaching and Learning, Garland ISD
• Macy Pena, University of Texas at Austin, National BESO Representative-Elect 

Intended Audience:

• District and campus leaders overseeing curriculum and instruction.
• Educators supporting bilingual, ESL, or dual language programs.
• Advocates and partners working to advance educational equity for multilingual learners.