Newcomer Immigrant Students: Helpful PreK-12 Tips for What to Do First

Lydia Breiseth is Director of Colorín Colorado, which is a part of the Learning Media Department of PBS station WETA in Washington, DC. In this capacity, Ms. Breiseth manages editorial content, multimedia production, partnerships, and outreach for the website. Ms. Breiseth has presented Colorín Colorado’s resources at a number of national conferences, including TESOL, NABE, CABE, NAEYC, OELA, the AFT’s TEACH Conference, and the Latino Children’s Book Conference. Ms. Breiseth has published articles on a variety of educational and literacy blogs on behalf of Colorín Colorado.

Ms. Breiseth has taught both English and Spanish as foreign languages and spent a year in Ecuador teaching English to graduate students with the educational exchange program WorldTeach. Ms. Breiseth received her Bachelor's Degree in English with a Minor in Latin American Studies from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. She lives in Arlington, VA with her husband and daughter.

Susan Lafond, NBCT, taught ENL and World Languages for 20 years in K-12 public schools. An Assistant in Educational Services with New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) for the past 13 years, she focuses on regulations and educational issues related to English learners (ELs), ENL/Bilingual programs, World Languages, and National Board Certification in addition to coordinating and delivering cutting edge online, virtual and in-person professional learning opportunities across the state that advance teacher growth and student achievement. She is also an adjunct at Siena College where she teaches a TESOL method class. Susan was appointed to the NBPTS English as a New Language Standards Committee to review and revise the existing English as a New Language Standards. She has served on AFT’s National ELL Educator Cadre since 2004, is a National Trainer and co-writer/-facilitator of the graduate course, ELL 101, and is currently collaborating on Project ELITE with Dr. Diane August. Susan is an expert practitioner and advisor to Colorín Colorado. As a veteran facilitator, Susan has presented at numerous conferences across the country including TESOL Preconvention Institutes, UFT’s ELL-Elevating Conference, and NYSED’s First Annual Literacy Conference. She is NYS TESOL’s Federal Advocacy Coordinator, serves on the Advocacy and Nomination Committees, was a Proposal Reader for the 50th Annual Conference and worked to develop multiple webinars for NYS TESOL members. She has published articles for NYSUT’s Educator’s Voice and Colorín Colorado and multiple blog posts with Larry Ferlazzo for Education Week. She was recognized for her contributions to the profession with an award from NYS TESOL in 2021.