CAN 
US/Global
Shawn Slakk
Shawn Slakk, Chief Learning Officer for ABCDS&S Consulting, works with teachers, administrators, schools, and state agencies to offer strategies and support for multilingual learners and their classmates, in grades K–12 and adults.
Shawn Slakk
Shawn Slakk, Chief Learning Officer for ABCDS&S Consulting, works with teachers, administrators, schools, and state agencies to offer strategies and support for multilingual learners and their classmates, in grades K–12 and adults. He is an author and developer of professional learning sessions for all levels of educators, focusing on whole-school implementation, administrative support, and coaching.
Shawn additionally partners with the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) to offer professional learning opportunities in SIOP. He has over thirty years of experience in teaching and administration for ESL, bilingual, and Spanish instruction across all grade levels and curricula. He expertly helps teachers, schools, or districts infuse language acquisition skills to help multilingual learners succeed with literacy and content mastery via professional learning, school leadership, program analysis, and compliance strategies.
Throughout his career, in addition to founding ABCDS&S Consulting, Shawn has held leadership positions with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, and Guilford County Schools. As the Coordinator of Rethinking Equity and Teaching for English Language Learners (RETELL) for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, he and his staff developed, evaluated, and refined the Sheltered English Instruction endorsement courses for administrators and classroom teachers. This included work with instructional strategies, lesson delivery, and assessment to support teachers of English language learners at all levels.
Shawn’s doctoral work focuses on post-professional learning support of reading and writing instruction for teachers of multilingual learners. He holds an MA in TESOL from Eastern Washington University, a master’s of school administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a bachelor’s in English and Spanish education from Whitworth University.
He is the coauthor of Integrando lenguaje, lectura, escritura y contenidos en español e inglés/ Integrating Language, Reading, Writing, and Content in English and Spanish (2019); Teaching Reading to ELs in 6th–12th (2018); Promises Fulfilled: A Leader’s Guide for Supporting English Learners (2017) and the 2017 article “Taking the Holistic Approach!” for Language Magazine, plus various chapters and articles.
Presentations by Shawn Slakk
- Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners
- Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners for Institutes of Higher Education
- Implementing and Supporting Comprehension for English Learners
- Integrating Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Literacy Into All Content Areas
- Systematic Education Systems Transformation for ELs and ALL Students: Access, Equity, & Achievement
- Interweaving Academic Language While Reading & Writing
- Teaching & Reaching Newcomers
- Early Language & Literacy: PreK, Kindergarten, & First Grade
- Instructional Strategies to Address WIDA Can-Do Descriptors
“Thanks again so much for all you have taught us! Your conference completely changed my instruction. I was able to share so much with my colleagues at my home school. My language learners made incredible progress because of the strategies I had learned from the conference! I even had a newcomer pass the Standard of Learning test. Thank you so much. I believe so strongly in what you're doing!
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! My wife and I are both hooked. These strategies make lesson planning easy and classroom delivery and teaching fun again. The kids get it and succeed!”
