Your Good Intentions Are Widening the Gap: What ENL Teachers Need to Hear

What happens when the students whom everyone overlooks become the ones who change everything?
In Part 2 of this must-hear S5E38 @schoolutionspodcast conversation, Rachael Thrash shares the inspiring story about Angolan students in Portland, Maine, who turned their isolation into a school-wide soccer tournament, walks through her Actionable Participatory Model step by step, and gives you the one move you can make this Monday to start co-creation in your classroom today.
Rachael unpacks why shy students, multilingual learners, and kids who learn differently are the most silenced voices in schools, and exactly how strategic facilitation and inclusive teaching can change that. This is equity in education and school culture work at its most practical and most human.
💫Make sure to watch Part 1 & check out some of the resources mentioned:

• Rachael Thrash's website
• Let the Learners Lead: Empowering Student Voice to Co-Create School Culture by Rachael Thrash
• Baxter Academy for Science and Technology, Portland, Maine
• International School of Helsinki

Next Week: Tan Huynh and Beth Skelton are on a mission to reach the students everyone assumes are fine — experienced multilinguals who can chat in the hallway but still can't write a formal essay with ease. Tune in to learn about their new book, Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals, and for the personal stories, the framework, and the moves that offer these students the instruction they've always deserved.

Chapters:
0:00 — Hook: Angolan Students Who Changed Their Whole School
1:00 — Welcome Back & Part 2 Overview
1:30 — Case Study: Baxter Academy for Science and Technology, Portland, Maine
3:00 — How Isolation Became the Catalyst for Change
4:00 — From Problem to Proposal: The Soccer League Story
5:30 — The Confidence Ripple Effect — What the Biology Teacher Noticed
6:30 — Whose Voices Get Overlooked Most Often
7:30 — The Story of Risa: From Silent to Leading
9:00 — How a Student Leadership Retreat Changed Everything
10:00 — Introducing the Actionable Participatory Model
10:30 — Step 1: Relationship Building and Connection
11:30 — Step 2: Exploring What's Working and What Isn't
12:30 — Step 3: Imagining a Better School
13:00 — Step 4: Breaking Ideas Into Actionable Projects
14:00 — Step 5: Real Audience, Real Stakes
14:45 — Step 6: Reflection and Redefining Together
16:00 — Why This Book Is a Mentor Text for Teachers
16:30 — What the World Is Demanding of Kids Right Now
17:30 — Why Co-Creation Defies AI
19:00 — Regenerative Education and Hattie's Research
20:30 — Page 143: The Co-Create Framework Quote
22:00 — The One Move to Start This Work on Monday
24:00 — Key Takeaways and Call to Action
25:00 — Next Week Preview: Tan Huynh and Beth Skelton
26:00 — Outro and How to Work With Olivia Wahl
📧 🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.
📧 Book a coaching session with me here if you’d like a thought partner to help you cultivate curious learners who advocate for what they believe in.
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl
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Next week's conversation: Tan Huynh and Beth Skelton are on a mission to reach the students everyone assumes are fine — experienced multilinguals who can chat in the hallway but still can't write a formal essay with ease. Tune in to learn about their new book, Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals, and for the personal stories, the framework, and the moves that offer these students the instruction they've always deserved.
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