Research-based, practical professional learning for teachers, coaches, school leaders, and district teams—available virtually and in person.
Join the Literacy Squared® team for current workshops, learning series, and conference opportunities. Our team offers virtual professional learning at various times throughout the year, typically in late July and early August before the start of the school year. These opportunities are open to individual educators and teams from any school or district. Check back often for new opportunities.
In Session!
Offered once a year, this four-part series guides school and district teams in using their Spanish and English reading assessment data to develop a local Biliterate Reading Trajectory and better understand students' reading development across both languages.
Virtual and in-person personalized professional development for bilingual and dual-language educators.
Job-embedded observation, reflection, and planning cycles connecting professional learning to classroom practice.
Professional development for educators supporting multilingual learners in English-medium settings.
Targeted guidance for teachers, instructional coaches, school leaders, and district teams.
Our team will work with you to design a professional learning plan that meets your educators’ needs and program goals. We believe educators need both the “why” and the “how” of biliteracy. Our prerequisite course, Core Principles of Literacy Squared®, establishes a shared mindset and theoretical understanding that ground all subsequent learning. Explore examples below of sessions we have designed with schools and districts.
Establishes the research-based foundations of Literacy Squared® and the Holistic Biliteracy Framework. Educators examine how bilingualism shapes learning and explore paired literacy, oracy, reading, writing, metalanguage, cross-language connections, and holistic assessment.
Introduces strategies that intentionally coordinate literacy and language instruction across Spanish and English while maintaining each language’s integrity. Participants examine backward planning, literacy and language demands, and coordination between Spanish literacy and literacy-based ELD.
Focuses on structured oral-language development supporting students in making meaning, developing language, and expressing ideas across Spanish literacy and ELD. Participants explore language structures, academic vocabulary, and dialogue.
Examines how students’ ability to think about, analyze, and discuss language supports biliteracy. Participants explore ways to notice patterns and compare linguistic features across sounds, word structures, and sentence levels.
Explores systematic instruction—including phonological awareness, phonics, decoding, and word recognition—across Spanish and English. Educators compare orthographic and phonological systems to deliver responsive instruction within a coordinated program.
Introduces Lotta Lara®, a signature routine integrating repeated reading and structured oracy to boost fluency, comprehension, and academic language. Participants learn the three-day instructional model and strengthen reading-writing connections.
Covers the Dictado®, an adapted dictation routine integrating reading, writing, and language analysis through connected text. Educators use student approximations in spelling and grammar to guide responsive instruction.
Extends learning of the Dictado® through responsive instructional design. Participants analyze student writing and grade-level texts to craft dictados targeting language structures, metalinguistic awareness, and cross-language connections.
Introduces Así se dice® (“that’s how you say it”), a strategy using translation to explore cross-language connections and metalanguage beyond word-for-word translation.
Focuses on evaluating reading growth through a holistic biliteracy lens rather than a monolingual frame. Introduces the Literacy Squared® Biliterate Reading Trajectory to help educators gather and interpret evidence across both languages.
Covers holistic writing analysis using the Literacy Squared® Writing Rubric. Participants evaluate paired Spanish and English writing samples to identify strengths, cross-language transfer, and targeted instructional needs.
A hands-on design lab where educators build unit plans aligning standards, texts, performance tasks, routines, and assessments across Spanish and English, emphasizing instructional coherence and cross-language connections.
Job-embedded professional learning involving collaborative lesson planning, classroom observations, and structured debrief cycles. Facilitators and peer teams observe strategy implementation in real time to refine practice.
Designed for instructional coaches, teacher leaders, and coordinators. Participants build capacity to identify high-quality biliteracy instruction, analyze student work, and facilitate reflective coaching conversations.
For principals and district administrators establishing systemic support for biliteracy. Focuses on leadership decisions, scheduling, resource allocation, curriculum alignment, observation look-fors, and long-term sustainability.
About the framework: Literacy Squared® was developed through research with students from Spanish-speaking homes enrolled in K–5 one-way bilingual/dual-language programs in the U.S. Educators in other dual-language models and language contexts have also found the framework relevant and adaptable.
This has been one of the best PDs that I’ve gotten to attend. I learned so much about dual-language best practices, and I am better equipped as a teacher to help my students.
I appreciated walking away from each session feeling like I could enact small steps toward big change in my district. Our team feels prepared to bring what we learned back in an achievable way.
Seeing the brain research on bilinguals made a huge impact on my understanding. I walked out feeling like I had a new superpower!
Select “Register now” for the workshop you want. The registration page will collect participant and payment information and can generate an invoice. Registration is confirmed after payment.
Full refunds are available up to seven days before the session. After that, refunds may be granted for extenuating circumstances. Substitutions are welcome at any time.
Courses with low enrollment will be canceled five business days before the session. Registration fees will be refunded in full.
Yes. Understanding the theoretical foundations of the Literacy Squared® research-based framework is essential before participating in other virtual courses.
The model was developed in Spanish–English one-way bilingual/dual-language programs. Educators working in other models and language contexts have found it relevant and adaptable.
Yes. Participants receive a certificate of completion showing the number of professional-development hours after completing each virtual course.
For professional-development or refund questions, email slavick@colorado.edu. For payment or vendor questions, email yesenia.gomez@colorado.edu.
We are accepting inquiries for the 2026–2027 school year. Tell us about your school, district, or team and what you hope to accomplish.
