Beliefs First: The Foundation of Effective Co-Teaching for Multilingual Learners

June 5, 2025

Today’s guest post is by Holly Porter, author of Intentional Co-Teaching for Multilingual Learners.

When we started building our co-teaching program for multilingual learners, we quickly realized something important: we couldn’t just ask teachers to change what they do without first addressing how they think.

Because here’s the truth— beliefs shape everything.

If you launch a co-teaching program without digging into the core beliefs that drive it, you’re setting yourself up for confusion, frustration, and resistance. At Cherry Creek School District [in Greenwood Village, Colorado], we knew we needed to get crystal clear on what we believed about multilingual learners and how those beliefs guided every move we made.

Here’s what we landed on:

• Multilingual learners should learn with their peers in the same classroom, tackling the same grade-level content together.
• Language and content are inseparable— you can’t teach language effectively without connecting it to the academic content students are expected to master.
• Content teachers are experts in their subject areas. ML specialists are experts in language development. Together, they create something powerful.
• When you bring language and content together in the general education setting, you ensure the rigor stays high—and students stay included.

These beliefs weren’t just words on a poster. They guided everything: how we trained teachers, how we designed co-teaching teams, even how we hired new staff. As part of our shift toward inclusive programming for multilingual learners, we made several deliberate changes grounded in our core beliefs:

• We transitioned from pull-out models to inclusive classrooms, ensuring multilingual learners received instruction within the general education setting. This shift wasn’t just logistical—it required a deep alignment in beliefs about language acquisition, equity, and the value of linguistic diversity. Where misalignment occurred, we provided opportunities for reflection and movement, encouraging staff to find roles where their expertise could still thrive.
• We redefined the role of our language educators by changing their title from “ML teachers” to “ML specialists.” This change highlighted their instructional expertise and emphasized the leadership they bring in co-teaching environments, language development, and collaboration across content areas.
• We required all ML specialists to hold a CLD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) endorsement. This ensured that every specialist was fully certified in supporting multilingual learners and equipped with both pedagogical knowledge and a strong understanding of culturally responsive practices.
• We openly communicated our core beliefs about inclusive programming and aligned them with all aspects of implementation, including staffing. This clarity encouraged some educators—particularly those more aligned with traditional, pull-out models—to explore new roles in intervention or general education. This movement was intentional and supported, helping us build a core team unified in their commitment to inclusion.
• We updated our hiring practices to reflect our beliefs. Job postings and interview questions were revised to explicitly highlight our commitment to co-teaching and multilingual learner inclusion. This helped attract candidates who already aligned with our program values and ensured new hires would reinforce—not resist—the direction we were heading.
• We prioritized belief alignment and cultural responsiveness in professional learning. Through ongoing training and coaching, we created space for reflection, growth, and a shared language around the goals of our co-teaching model.

If you’re thinking about launching—or improving—a co-teaching model for multilingual learners, start with beliefs. Build the foundation first. Because if your team truly believes in the work, everything else becomes possible.

Want help getting there?

That’s what the book Intentional Co-Teaching for Multilingual Learners is all about. And I’d love to work with your school or district to support your journey—from belief to practice.

Let’s talk about what co-teaching could look like for your multilingual learners! Visit the Intentional Co-Teaching website for information about customized trainings, online courses, and more.

Intentional Co-Teaching for Multilingual Learners

An Equitable Approach to Integrating Content and Language

By Holly J. Porter, Ed.D.

“While other books talk about the conditions and principles of co-teaching, this one narrates how a school district labored to create these conditions from scratch. The rubric and elegant co-teaching models are exactly what a busy teacher needs: tools and no-fuss models ready to use tomorrow.”

—Tan Huynh, International School Educator