Meet Diana Moncada (she/her), a fourth-grade teacher at Figueroa Street Elementary. Now in her fourth year, she exemplifies teaching backed by the Partnership and how strong instruction promotes educational equity. We connected with her to learn how she supports multilingual learners in accessing grade-level content and confidently sharing their thinking.

Early in the school year, Ms. Moncada noticed patterns in her students’ work and daily classroom performance. Many understood the math but struggled to explain their thinking aloud or in writing. She found that “many students were limited in their opportunities to engage in math discourse due to the language barrier.”

To address this, she focused on routines, expectations, and supports, laying the foundation for her current practice. Rather than lowering expectations, she embedded language practice directly into math, reading, and writing lessons. “Students demonstrated math understanding, and simply needed that additional support to explain their reasoning,” she said. By incorporating strategies like partner talk, whole-group discussions, and sentence starters, students develop academic language and gradually respond more independently.

In both math and English language arts, Ms. Moncada uses talk as a bridge to writing. Using strategies such as Restate, Answer, Cite, and Explain (RACE), students discuss questions with a partner and may use their home language before responding in English. “Students were encouraged to use their home language to explain their thinking before answering in English, if needed,” she explained, noting that this helps them organize their ideas and build confidence.

This work aligns with the Partnership’s multilingual learner support and commitment to equitable access to grade-level content. “What stands out about Ms. Moncada’s approach is how she’s made academic discourse accessible without lowering the cognitive demand,” said Dr. Brittany Brunson, senior elementary math coach with the Partnership, based at Figueroa. “She exemplifies this because her students engage in grade-level mathematics while developing their academic language. You can see growth in both their mathematical reasoning and their willingness to take risks in communication.”

From a bigger-picture view, Ms. Moncada credits careful planning with her grade-level team and a shared focus on supporting multilingual students. By emphasizing consistency and providing regular opportunities to practice, she continues to build a classroom where multilingual learners’ voices are valued and their strengths recognized.