During a group activity, Bryan hesitated over the word “function,” whispering, “foonk-tee-on.”

Before I spoke, Kayla leaned over and gently offered the correct pronunciation, “func-shin.” Bryan tried again slowly, carefully, and then beamed when he got it right. Our entire 9th grade class erupted in applause. This, for me, was something much bigger than a mispronounced word: in my classroom, students feel safe enough to stumble and support each other.

With triple the state average of multilingual learners, Revere— where I teach—is on the front lines of a changing Massachusetts. However, the latest state test results are a wake-up call: 94% of our 10th grade multilingual learners are failing to meet basic grade-level expectations.

Massachusetts is currently advancing the Right to Read Act, a promising effort to strengthen literacy instruction statewide. Its emphasis on evidence-based practices, instructional coaching, and sustained professional development has the potential to be especially transformative for multilingual learners. This month, Teach Plus and Teach for America held a literacy summit in Springfield aimed at building momentum for the act and sharing best practices around the science of reading implementation. This work helps educators like me create classrooms where students not only build literacy skills, but also feel safe taking risks, participating in discussions, and drawing on their cultural and linguistic strengths.

And that’s why we shouldn’t stop when students move into middle and high school. The scene that played out in my high school classroom should be the norm. Teacher-focused training and student-centered literacy supports that revolve around evidence-based practices must extend beyond the early grades so that all older learners reap the benefits.

This begins with providing professional learning so that all secondary educators are able to help their multilingual students feel valued and accepted. It means prioritizing student voice and classroom culture. In my Sheltered English Immersion

(SEI) classroom, designed to bridge the gap between language acquisition and core subject mastery, I build connections by noticing the quiet students who hesitate to speak, and pausing to celebrate small victories, like the one that starred Bryan and Kayla.

I build a classroom culture rooted in collaboration and trust, which directly translates to higher grades and faster progress. This approach helped Bryan find his voice, transforming him into one of my highest-scoring students in English fluency. He went from struggling to pronounce math vocabulary to becoming the first to volunteer to read each word problem aloud—building confidence that extended beyond academics and into his everyday interactions in English with me and his classmates.

Another way to ensure older multilingual learners have the literacy support they need is to limit class sizes. For example, SEI classrooms like mine should not include more than 15 students. These smaller settings are essential because they allow teachers to move beyond mere crowd control to form the meaningful relationships and tailored instruction required for true language acquisition.

I know this from experience: during my first two years of teaching, my classes often swelled to 30 students with new arrivals appearing weekly. Instead of providing deep instruction, I was often juggling off-task students and managing side conversations in multiple languages, leaving avoidant learners behind in the noise. Capping these classes creates the space for students like Bryan to feel seen and safe enough to take the academic risks necessary to master a new language. In a smaller class, there is time to pause in moments like when Bryan hesitated over “function,” to let a peer step in, to let him try again, and to turn a quiet risk into a shared success.

Every day, my students remind me of what it means to belong. Bryan has surpassed many of his peers when it comes to communicating in English, now serving as a resource to his classmates and quickly understanding and processing information. Recently, he helped teach others during a group activity about solving systems of equations, in which he explained each step and clarified key vocabulary for his groupmates—a moment that reminded me of how Kayla once helped Bryan.

These moments show that learning is much more than mastering content. It’s about feeling safe, valued, and capable. If we invest in smaller class sizes and make sure all educators at every level have training and resources to deliver high-quality, inclusive instruction, then all students can experience belonging. At the end of the day, belonging is the foundation for learning, confidence, and lifelong success.

Madeline Nees is a Sheltered English Immersion and honors math teacher at Revere High School in Revere, Massachusetts. She is a 2025-2026 Teach Plus Massachusetts Policy Fellow.