EB Con 2026

Follow the Yellow Brick Road to EBCon 2026

July 8-9, 2026 | 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. | Region 7 ESC | Workshop #279480

Register for EBCon 2026

There’s no place like EBCon! Educators and leaders supporting emergent bilingual students will gather for two inspiring days of keynotes and breakout sessions designed to spark courage, heart, wisdom, and new ideas along every step of the journey.

This year’s keynote speaker is Pamela Broussard, a multilingual educator, Rotary International Peace Fellow, advocate for student voice, agency, and leadership, and an internationally experienced practitioner whose work embodies the spirit of guiding students toward their own Emerald City of success. With more than 30 years of classroom experience, from elementary to graduate-level preparation, and service across the U.S. and abroad, Broussard brings unparalleled insight into the needs of Newcomers, SLIFE students, multilingual learners, and diverse classroom communities.

Ready to share your story at EBCon? Teachers and staff across Region 7 can submit a proposal using the EBCon presenter proposal form. Link opens in a new tab.

Help us recognize excellence across Region 7. Nominate an outstanding teacher, paraprofessional, or leader through the Regional Awards nomination form. Link opens in a new tab.

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Day One

8:00 a.m.: Exhibit Hall Open
8:00 - 8:30: Breakfast & Sign-In
8:30 - 9:00: Welcome
9:00 - 10:30: Keynote, Pamela Broussard
10:45 - 11:30: Breakout 1
11:30 - 12:15: Lunch
12:30 - 1:30: Breakout 2
1:45 - 2:45: Breakout 3
2:45 - 3:00: Snacks
3:00 - 4:00: Breakout 4

Day Two

8:00 a.m.: Vendor Booth Set Up
8:30 - 9:15: Breakfast, Sign-In, ESC Highlights, Day 2 News & Awards
9:30 - 10:15: Breakout 1
10:15 - 10:30: Networking
10:30 - 11:30: Breakout 2
11:30 - 12:15: Lunch, Meal Pick Up & Networking
12:15 - 1:15: Breakout 3
1:15 - 1:30: Networking
1:30 - 2:30: Breakout 4
2:30 - 2:45: Networking, Snacks & Exhibitor Booth Take Down
2:45 - 3:45: Breakout 5
4:00 - 4:15: Farewell & Door Prizes

Breakout Sessions

Explore breakout session options for both days of EBCon 2026. Participants will select sessions after registering for the conference.

Day 1 Breakouts

Day One Breakouts

10:45 - 11:30 a.m. | Breakout 1

Finding the Way Forward: Turning Data Into Meaningful Intervention
Presenter: Book Nook
School and district leaders will examine intervention practices, look closer at what the data is really telling them, and build practical plans that lead to stronger student outcomes for multilingual and English learners.

Bridging Spanish and English: Practical Cross-Linguistic Strategies for Accelerating Biliteracy
Presenter: Benchmark
This interactive session explores cross-linguistic strategies that help teachers intentionally connect Spanish and English literacy instruction through practical routines for sound-spelling relationships and language transfer.

Bilingual Brilliance: Building an Effective Literacy Ecosystem for Emergent Bilingual Students
Presenter: Amplify
Attendees will explore how celebrating bilingualism and biliteracy as assets can support reading success in English and Spanish. The session will also include an overview of Amplify’s biliteracy resources.

Lions and Tigers and AI, Oh My! Navigating Artificial Intelligence in the Emergent Bilingual Classroom
Presenter: Sibme
This practical session explores how EB teachers can use AI to save time, deepen scaffolding, create bilingual supports, and better meet students’ language and academic needs.

No Ruby Slippers Required: Using DMAC Data to Lead EB Students to Success
Presenter: DMAC
Participants will learn how to use DMAC data reports to create and monitor EB student groups, analyze performance trends, and make data-driven instructional decisions.

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. | Breakout 2

From Assets to Action: Supporting Newcomers to Thrive
Presenter: Pam Broussard
This session will help educators turn asset-based beliefs into practical classroom supports for newcomer students, with strategies that build confidence, belonging, and academic access.

ELPS Overview
Presenter: April Munoz
Participants will review key ELPS expectations and explore how language support can be intentionally embedded into daily instruction for emergent bilingual students.

AI Demystified: Think Critically, Teach Confidently
Presenter: Holly Curry
Teachers will build a practical, jargon-free foundation for understanding AI, evaluating AI output, and using it ethically and responsibly in classroom settings.

Listen, Read, Engage: Notebook LM in Action
Presenter: Misty Spencer
Explore how Google’s Notebook LM can transform written content into podcast-style audio files to support listening and reading for emergent bilingual students.

The Reports Are Here, Now What?
Presenter: Ana Jimenez and Krystal Hagler
This session focuses on a districtwide approach to analyzing state data, identifying gaps, aligning supports, and using reports to strengthen instruction and student outcomes.

1:45 - 2:45 p.m. | Breakout 3

From Assets to Action: Supporting Newcomers to Thrive
Presenter: Pam Broussard
This session will help educators turn asset-based beliefs into practical classroom supports for newcomer students, with strategies that build confidence, belonging, and academic access.

ELPS Overview
Presenter: Angela Gandy
Participants will review key ELPS expectations and explore how language support can be intentionally embedded into daily instruction for emergent bilingual students.

AI Demystified: Think Critically, Teach Confidently
Presenter: Holly Curry
Teachers will build a practical, jargon-free foundation for understanding AI, evaluating AI output, and using it ethically and responsibly in classroom settings.

Listen, Read, Engage: Notebook LM in Action
Presenter: Misty Spencer
Explore how Google’s Notebook LM can transform written content into podcast-style audio files to support listening and reading for emergent bilingual students.

Removing Barriers: Building Responsive Supports for Newcomer Families
Presenter: Dr. Evelyn Sauceda and Joseph Pino
This session reframes newcomer needs as more than language and outlines practical, no-cost strategies to anticipate needs, coordinate supports, and improve family stability, access, and success.

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. | Breakout 4

From Assets to Action: Supporting Newcomers to Thrive
Presenter: Pam Broussard
This session will help educators turn asset-based beliefs into practical classroom supports for newcomer students, with strategies that build confidence, belonging, and academic access.

ELPS Overview
Presenter: Carmen Delgado
Participants will review key ELPS expectations and explore how language support can be intentionally embedded into daily instruction for emergent bilingual students.

AI Demystified: Think Critically, Teach Confidently
Presenter: Holly Curry
Teachers will build a practical, jargon-free foundation for understanding AI, evaluating AI output, and using it ethically and responsibly in classroom settings.

Listen, Read, Engage: Notebook LM in Action
Presenter: Misty Spencer
Explore how Google’s Notebook LM can transform written content into podcast-style audio files to support listening and reading for emergent bilingual students.

Courage, Heart, and a Brain: Co-Creating EB Success with Families
Presenter: Raegan Grisby
This session reframes family engagement through an asset-based lens, helping educators elevate family voice, build trust, and co-create solutions that strengthen EB programs.

Day 2 Breakouts

Day Two Breakouts

9:30 - 10:15 a.m. | Breakout 1

Bringing Language to Life: Essential Instructional Routines for English Learners
Presenter: HMH
This session explores routines that make language visible, accessible, and meaningful while supporting academic discourse, engagement, and student independence.

Making Learning Stick: A Practical Approach to Spiraling
Presenter: Lowman
Learn how spiraling can help students strengthen retention, build confidence, and improve performance through simple ongoing review routines.

From Questions to Knowledge: Inquiry as a Launchpad to Success
Presenter: Ellevation
Participants will engage in a structured inquiry process to make observations, generate thoughtful questions, and use collaborative discussion to deepen understanding.

Empower, Engage, Excel: Digital Learning for Emergent Bilingual Students
Presenter: Imagine Learning
This session highlights digital tools that support accessibility, language development, interactive learning, and personalized instruction for emergent bilingual students.

Empowering Multilingual Learners during Foundational Skills Instruction
Presenter: Instruction Partners
Participants will explore practical strategies that connect K-2 foundational skills with English language development and bilingual language standards.

Defying the Divide: Bridging Language Development and Content Instruction
Presenter: Flashlight 360
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to practical strategies for embedding language development into content instruction while supporting inclusive, TEKS-aligned learning.

10:30 - 11:30 a.m. | Breakout 2

What to Do When Not Everyone “Gets It”: Advocacy Strategies for Emergent Bilinguals and Their Families
Presenter: Dr. Evelyn Sauceda
Learn practical advocacy strategies that help educators communicate needs clearly, align supports, strengthen collaboration, and keep the focus on student access and success.

Cultura Riqueza y Translanguaging en la Práctica Internacional
Presenter: Elizabeth Dees
This session explores asset-based views of language, bilingual teaching strategies, and international insights that support inclusive, culturally sustaining classrooms.

ELPS Updates to TCMPC
Presenter: Kari Cahill
Participants will review ELPS updates connected to TCMPC and explore ways to support language development within curriculum planning and instruction.

Following the Yellow Brick Road: Designing Tiered Support for Students
Presenter: Samantha Chastain
Learn how to design Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 supports that address language acquisition and academic gaps without over-identifying students.

The Wizard Behind the Words: Making Vocabulary Instruction Visible
Presenter: Stacy Gwartney
This session pulls back the curtain on intentional vocabulary instruction and high-impact strategies that help emergent bilingual students build and apply academic language.

The Lion Would Have Made a Great Luchador
Presenter: Michael Pettiette
This hands-on session shows how read-alouds like Lucía the Luchadora and The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra can inspire bilingual lessons, vocabulary activities, writing prompts, and cultural connections with support from AI tools.

12:15 - 1:15 p.m. | Breakout 3

Take a Breath, Take a Break: A Calm Corner
Presenter: Dana Harper
The Calm Corner provides a dedicated space to recharge, slow down, practice gratitude, and engage in brief restorative activities that support wellness.

Where Confidence Fuels Academic Excellence in Dual Language Classrooms
Presenter: Lizet Chavez and Ana Jimenez
This session explores how safe, high-expectation learning environments help bilingual students take risks, build academic language, and grow through structured discourse routines.

Behind the Curtain: Encoding and Decoding the Language of Mathematics
Presenter: Julie Fowler
Participants will explore how translating between symbols, visuals, words, and models helps students make sense of math and clearly express their reasoning.

If Oz Were a Classroom… Who Would You Refer for G/T Services?
Presenter: Ginger Canaan
This session will help educators think more intentionally about recognizing gifted potential in emergent bilingual students and supporting equitable referral practices.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Language-Rich Classrooms
Presenter: Kendra Nash and Buffie Walton
Explore how daily routines like centers, transitions, read-alouds, and outdoor play can become powerful language-building opportunities for emergent bilingual learners.

They Can Think, Now Let Them Speak: Empowering Newcomers to Find Their Voice
Presenter: Alejandra Grijalva
This session challenges the idea that English proficiency must come before participation and offers ways to help newcomer students share their thinking with confidence.

1:30 - 2:30 p.m. | Breakout 4

Take a Breath, Take a Break: A Calm Corner
Presenter: Dana Harper
The Calm Corner provides a dedicated space to recharge, slow down, practice gratitude, and engage in brief restorative activities that support wellness.

Evidence-Based Literacy Block
Presenter: Patsy Ramirez
This session introduces a framework for building an effective, research-backed literacy block that engages students and supports skilled readers and writers.

Math Without Barriers: Practical Strategies to Support Emergent Bilingual Students in K-5 Classrooms
Presenter: Jessica Johnson
K-5 educators will explore routines that reduce language barriers while maintaining rigorous mathematical thinking through visuals, structured discourse, and collaborative problem-solving.

Courage, Heart, and Wisdom: Building Student Agency Within MTSS
Presenter: Samantha Chastain
This session focuses on integrating student voice, goal-setting, reflection, and self-advocacy into MTSS progress monitoring for emergent bilingual students.

Defying Gravity: Expanding Newcomer Supports from Secondary to Elementary
Presenter: Maria Almendarez, Pedro Tovar, Mario Torres
Participants will explore how one district expanded newcomer supports from a secondary-only model to a vertically aligned K-12 system grounded in data, equity, and belonging.

Click Your Heels and Speak! Brain-Based Strategies to Make Academic Vocabulary Stick
Presenter: Kristal Webb
Attendees will explore structured routines that help academic vocabulary become accessible for students to use in speaking and writing.

2:45 - 3:45 p.m. | Breakout 5

Language-Rich Math: Strategies for English Learners in the Math Classroom
Presenter: Amanda Esparza
Teachers will practice strategies that scaffold vocabulary and math concepts through short, interactive activities that support language development in a safe, inclusive classroom.

Growing Bilingual Readers: Literacy in the Library and Beyond
Presenter: Lana Kinney
Participants will explore ways to curate and use bilingual and multilingual texts that reflect students’ languages, cultures, and literacy needs.

Shadows, Science, and Student Voice: A Spooky Science Sneak Peek
Presenter: Michele Stokes and Lori Ashby
Step into a fast-paced science lab experience using light and shadows while exploring strategies that support language development, vocabulary, and student discourse.

Supporting Emergent Bilingual Gifted and Talented Students
Presenter: Elizabeth Dees
This session explores the overlap between emergent bilingualism and giftedness, culturally fair assessment practices, and instructional strategies that support EB/GT learners.

The Wizard Behind the Curtain: AI as a Scaffold for Emerging Bilinguals
Presenter: Michael Pettiete
Participants will explore classroom-ready uses of Gemini Educational Gems, ChatGPT, and Magic School to support comprehension, translation, academic vocabulary, and grade-level rigor.

From Quiet to Confident: Scaffolding Student Discourse for Emergent Bilinguals
Presenter: Stacy Gwartney
This session explores sentence stems, structured talk routines, and collaborative tasks that help emergent bilingual students engage in academic conversations with confidence.

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Pamela Broussard

Pam Broussard is a dynamic multilingual educator, keynote speaker, and advocate with more than 30 years of experience across every level of instruction, from elementary classrooms to graduate courses. Currently a high school New Arrival Center teacher in Houston, Texas, Pam brings a powerful global perspective shaped by teaching both in the United States and abroad, including seven years in Afghanistan.

Her work is deeply informed by time spent in more than 35 countries and in settings many educators only read about, including refugee camps, orphanages, conflict zones, and human trafficking recovery sites. These experiences give Pam a profound understanding of social-emotional learning, culturally responsive practices, and trauma-informed teaching, all grounded in real classroom application.

As the founder of Leading ELLs and Pamela Broussard LLC, Pam inspires educators worldwide to share resources, grow their practice, and better serve multilingual learners. She empowers teachers to increase student engagement while building independence and confidence, drawing from experience in general education, special education, ESL, emergent bilingual, SLIFE, and New Arrival programs.

A Rotary International Peace Fellow, Pam champions inclusion, hands-on learning, and creative approaches that help all students feel seen and supported. When she is not working with educators, you will likely find her creating art, surrounded by paint, glue, and collage materials, exploring new ways to bring imagination into learning.

Learn more about Pam Broussard at Leading ELLs. Link opens in a new tab.

Meet Our EBCon Presenters

Take a look at some of the educators and leaders helping bring heart, courage, wisdom, and fresh ideas to EBCon 2026.

Ready to Follow the Yellow Brick Road?

Join us July 8-9, 2026, for two days of learning, collaboration, and inspiration for educators supporting emergent bilingual students.

Register for EBCon 2026

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Like Dorothy and her friends on the Yellow Brick Road, we do not make this journey alone. EB Con is made possible through the support of our sponsors, whose partnership helps us create an inspiring and impactful experience for all.