Ensuring Access, Building Ownership: Supporting Multilingual Students with Diverse Needs in MTSS (Multilingual Learners with Educational Disabilities Webinar Series)
Audience: Educators, Other District/School Staff | Topic: Multilingual Learners, Special Education | Hosted by: Office of Special Education
Requirement for School / District Staff: N/A
Webinar format
The Offices of Special Education and Elementary Literacy and School Readiness proudly invite you to join the2025-26 Webinar Series: Multilingual Learners with Educational Disabilities. This engaging series brings together a star-studded lineup of national and Colorado-based researchers and practitioners who are leading the field with practical, student-centered approaches.
Participants will gain fresh insights into this often-overlooked intersectional population, explore evidence-based literacy strategies to strengthen instruction, and consider thoughtful adjustments to referral, evaluation, and programming decision-making.
This series is for Colorado Special Education teams, including ELD Teachers, Literacy Specialists, Directors, and Coordinators in Special Education and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education.
Download the Series Booklet (PDF)
Registration
Registration for each webinar will close two weeks before each respective webinar to ensure accessibility. Zoom links and invites will be sent out two weeks prior to each webinar.
Space is limited, so reserve your spot today
Register for one or more session
About this Session
Presented by Dr. Claudia Rinaldi
Join us to explore how schools can ensure access and foster student ownership for Multilingual Learners within an MTSS framework. This webinar will share strategies to identify and support diverse needs while building inclusive, culturally responsive systems.
About the Speaker:
Claudia Rinaldi, Ph.D., is a Professor of Education and Dean of Curricular Integration at Lasell University. A nationally recognized scholar and educator, her research focuses on implementing the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) in urban schools, particularly for English learners, as well as advancing teacher preparation in bilingual special education and strengthening diversity in the teacher workforce.
Dr. Rinaldi is the author of Practical Ways to Engage All Struggling Readers and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals. She directs Lasell's graduate certificate program in Teaching Bilingual Students with Disabilities and leads Pathways to Teacher Diversity, a college mentoring initiative aimed at increasing representation in the education field.
Her leadership extends beyond the university through service on the board of the Council for Exceptional Children, advisory roles with the National Center for Learning Disabilities andUnderstood.org, and technical review contributions to the National Center for Intensive Interventions. Dr. Rinaldi also served as a thought leader on the needs of English learners with disabilities for the National Center for Systemic Improvement and a presenter for the MA webinar on Raising the Bar for Dyslexia Screener for English Learners for the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education among many others.
A passionate advocate for equity in education, Dr. Rinaldi believes in preparing teacher leaders who champion the success of all students—regardless of language, culture, disability, or socioeconomic status—both in the U.S. and globally.
View Dr. Rinaldi’s webpage via Lasell University
Event Date and Time
- Thursday, August 21, 2025 - 8:30am to 9:30am
Location
OnlineCertificate
Attendees will receive 1 hour of Special Education recertification credit, which satisfies part of the new renewal requirements under Colorado HB 21-1104.
Contact Information
Hunter Smith or Brie JohnsonSmith_H@cde.state.co.us or Johnson_B@cde.state.co.us
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