Supporting Older Multilingual Learners: Equity-Focused On-Ramps for College and Careers

Presented by Sonja Bloetner, Director of Multilingual Achievement, Baltimore County Public Schools (MD); Dr. Karen Woodson, Founder and Lead Researcher, Leading for School Improvement; and Dr. Kia Johnson, Senior Director of PreK–12 Professional Development and Evaluations, Center for Applied Linguistics

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As multilingual learner populations grow and diversify, district leaders face the critical challenge of serving older students with interrupted formal education who are under-credited and over age. How can we create meaningful pathways that lead to credentials, career readiness, and college access rather than pushing these students toward aging out?

Join Dr. Karen Woodson and Sonja Bloetner for this edWebinar as they share innovative, equity-focused strategies for supporting secondary multilingual learners through creative partnerships, flexible programming, and holistic support systems. Learn how Baltimore County Public Schools is pioneering a GED partnership model with community colleges, maximizing transfer credits, and building comprehensive support that addresses not just academics, but social-emotional needs, career pathways, and college access.

Whether you’re serving 100 or 3,000 secondary MLs, this session will provide actionable strategies for building district-level systems that honor multilingual learners’ assets, meet them where they are, and open doors to their futures.

This edWebinar will be of interest to district-level leaders, ESOL/ML directors, secondary principals, counselors, and instructional leaders working with multilingual populations in high school and above.

Sonja Bloetner is the Director for Baltimore County Public Schools’ Office of Multilingual Achievement and a co-founder of CREATE Solutions, LLC. She and her team are passionate about shifting learning outcomes for young learners in the United States and in the global community. Sonja has worked in the field of public education for over 28 years, including the role of the PreK-12 Supervisor of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program in a large suburban district in Maryland, where she has supported the learning needs of over 30,000 multilingual learners and thousands of teachers and administrators. Sonja recently published Formative Assessment Strategies for English Language Learners with Teacher Created Materials, Inc and Leading Success for Diverse Learners: Transforming the Matrix of Your School System.

Dr. Karen Woodson is an experienced educational leader and consultant with 35 years of experience in K–12 education, specializing in multilingual learner education, bilingual special education, and school improvement. Over the course