
Breaking Down the Wall: Essential Shifts for English Learners' Success
It was a dark and stormy night in Santa Barbara. January 19, 2017. The next day's inauguration drumroll played on the evening news. Huddled around a table were nine Corwin authors and their publisher, who together have devoted their careers to equity in education. They couldn't change the weather, they couldn't heal a fractured country, but they did have the power to put their collective wisdom about EL education upon the page to ensure our multilingual learners reach their highest potential. Proudly, we introduce you now to the fruit of that effort: Breaking Down the Wall: Essential Shifts for English Learners' Success. In this first-of-a-kind collaboration, teachers and leaders, whether in small towns or large urban centers, finally have both the research and the practical strategies to take those first steps toward excellence in educating our culturally and linguistically diverse children. It's a book to be celebrated because it means we can throw away the dark glasses of deficit-based approaches and see children who come to school speaking a different home language for what they really are: learners with tremendous assets. The authors' contributions are arranged in nine chapters that become nine tenets for teachers and administrators to use as calls to actions in their own efforts to realize our English learners' potential: 1. From Deficit-Based to Asset-Based 2. From Compliance to Excellence 3. From Watering Down to Challenging 4. From Isolation to Collaboration 5. From Silence to Conversation 6. From Language to Language, Literacy, and Content 7. From Assessment of Learning to Assessment for and as Learning 8. From Monolingualism to Multilingualism 9. From Nobody Cares to Everyone/Every Community Cares Read this book; the chapters speak to one another, a melodic echo of expertise, classroom vignettes, and steps to take. To shift the status quo is neither fast nor easy, but there is a clear process, and it's laid out here in Breaking Down the Wall. To distill it into a single line would go something like this: if we can assume mutual ownership, if we can connect instruction to all children's personal, social, cultural, and linguistic identities, then all students will achieve.
Margarita Espino Calderon, Maria G. Dove, Diane Staehr Fenner, Margo Gottlieb, Andrea Honigsfeld, Tonya W. Singer, Shawn M. Sinclair-Slakk, Ivannia Soto, Debbie Zacarian
Published: Mar 31, 2020
ISBN: 9781544342610
SKU: CP2610
Publisher: Corwin Press
Pairs well with

Breaking Down the Wall: Essential Shifts for English Learners' Success
If you have any questions, you are always welcome to contact us. We'll get back to you as soon as possible, within 24 hours on weekdays.
-
Shipping Information
Use this text to answer questions in as much detail as possible for your customers.
-
Customer Support
Use this text to answer questions in as much detail as possible for your customers.
-
FAQ’s
Use this text to answer questions in as much detail as possible for your customers.
-
Contact Us
Use this text to answer questions in as much detail as possible for your customers.
FAQs
Please read our FAQs page to find out more.
How long does shipping take?
Standard delivery typically arrives within 3–7 business days depending on your location, and quantities ordered. Need books faster than a caffeinated teacher before finals week? Give us a call and we'll be happy to discuss meeting your deadlines.
Do you accept purchase orders from schools or districts?
Yes! QEP Books proudly supports school, district, and institutional purchase orders. Simply email your PO to QEPOrders@qepbooks.com and we'll take care of the rest.
Do you offer discounts for bulk orders?
Yes — the more books you buy, the happier we get, and the better your discount becomes. Reach out to our team for a custom bulk quote tailored to your school or organization.
Can I speak to a real human if I need help?
Absolutely. Our team is small but friendly, and actually reads your messages. Just use the contact form or email us directly at QEPOrders@qepbooks.com — we respond quickly and without AI-generated attitude.




















