Fall 2026 CoTESOL Convention: Full Schedule

Welcome to the 48th Annual CoTESOL Fall Convention!
Dates: November 14-15, 2025
Location: The Conference Center, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, 1500 E. 128th Ave., Thornton, CO 80241

1:00pm MDT

Making Language and Content Accessible to All Students

Saturday May 9, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm MDT

Cottonwood

In this 45-minute hands-on workshop, I will draw upon research and resources to provide content area instructors with practical strategies and approaches to implement, evaluate and revise to better serve multilingual learners their classes without “dumbing down” content or assessment.

CDE CLDE Credit: 5.11 Quality Standard III; 5.11(2) ELEMENT B

Audience: Content Area (CA); Adult Education (AE); Teacher Education/Action Research (TE/AR); Intensive English Program/Higher Education (IEP/HE)

Speakers

Kat Bradley-Bennett

ESOL/TESOL/ABEA Instructor, Front Range Community College

I have been teaching adult ESOL since 1999, when I left a 15-year career in community recycling to go to China for a month and teach English. I was hooked and have not looked back. My only regret is that I didn't discover teaching English to adults earlier in my life!

I love being... Read More →

Saturday May 9, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm MDT
Cottonwood

Content Area (CA)

Speaker Type Academic
Session Type Presentation (45 min.)
CDE CLDE Credit CDE CLDE Credit

9:50am MDT

CA SIG FEATURED PRESENTATION: Teaching and Learning in Linguistically Inclusive Spaces

Sunday May 10, 2026 9:50am - 10:35am MDT

Cottonwood

Before we educators begin to design and implement linguistically inclusive practices for our students, we must examine our own linguistic repertoires and consider how we can bravely create inclusion through building community, confidence/confianza, and complexity. In this session, we will have the opportunity to analyze and design activities through a translanguaging lens.

CDE CLDE Credit: 5.10(2) ELEMENT B

Audience: Content Area

Speakers

Kira Cunningham

Durango School District, SIG Featured Speaker

Kira Cunningham has over 25 years of experience in education including as a student liaison with the Migrant Education program, elementary classroom teacher, English language development (ELD) teacher, professional learning specialist with WIDA, and district ELD program coordinator... Read More →

Deidre Hiles

Deidre Hiles is an unapologetically practical middle-school ELD Specialist in Durango, Colorado who firmly believes that language acquisition should be a party, not a puzzle. After years of teaching Spanish and attempting to master the art of the pre-teen negotiation, she is here... Read More →

Sunday May 10, 2026 9:50am - 10:35am MDT
Cottonwood

Content Area (CA)

Speaker Type Invited Speaker
Session Type Presentation (45 min.)
CDE CLDE Credit CDE CLDE Credit

9:50am MDT

Translanguaging Design and Shifts that Support Multilingual Students' Learning and Sense of Belonging

Sunday May 10, 2026 9:50am - 10:35am MDT

Dogwood

This interactive session reinforces what distinguishes Translanguaging from translation and provides participants with definitions and concrete examples of how intentional Translanguaging design and instructional shifts enhance not only language and content learning, but also a sense of belonging for multilingual students.

CDE CLDE Credit: 5.11. Quality Standard III, Element A

Audience: Elementary Education (EE); Secondary Education (SE); Content Area (CA)

Speakers

Dr. Deena Gumina

Associate Teaching Professor, University of Colorado Boulder: The BUENO Center

Dr. Deena Gumina is a Project Director for the BUENO Center and an Assistant Teaching
Professor for the Equity, Bilingualism and Biliteracy Department in the School of Education at
the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Gumina’s research interests include bilingual education,
tea... Read More →

Sunday May 10, 2026 9:50am - 10:35am MDT
Dogwood

Content Area (CA)

Speaker Type Academic
Session Type Presentation (45 min.)
CDE CLDE Credit CDE CLDE Credit

Fall 2026 CoTESOL Convention

1:00pm MDT

Kat Bradley-Bennett

9:50am MDT

Kira Cunningham

Deidre Hiles

Deidre Hiles

9:50am MDT

Dr. Deena Gumina

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