by Mr. Angelo Sandoval (CEO & Founder of EmpowerED Coaching, Inc.) As an educator and consultant, my social media feed is full of catchy reminders about teaching,  but one commonly occurring post always hits differently: “Be the teacher you needed when you were younger.” Every time I read it, I think about young Angelo, a Mexican-American kid growing up in South Stockton, raised in a chaotic and uneducated family just trying to survive. I think about the boy who used humor to hide his academic insecurity. I think about the student who wanted desperately to learn and be intelligent but didn’t know how to process failure (and other important emotions)… because no one ever taught him how. And when I reflect on the last 21 years of my teaching career — the emotional coaching, the culturally responsive practices, the routines, the sports psychology lessons, the relationship-building, the mindset work, I can see clearly: Much of what Mr. Sandoval did for his students…are the exact things young Angelo needed from his teachers. When Failure Felt Like a Threat In Rebuilding Students’ Learning Power , Zaretta Hammond reminds us that the brain is built to learn and that mistakes and setbacks are information, not character flaws. That’s true. But young Angelo didn’t know that. Emotional regulation didn’t exist in my home. We knew happiness, anger (lots of anger), frustration (which led to more anger), excitement… but not reflection. Not metacognition. Not coping. So failure wasn’t feedback. Failure was a threat. A danger. A reason to shut down. I’ll never forget a moment in 7th grade, probably the clearest memory I have of academic panic. I was sitting in class staring at the Physical Science exam that felt impossible. There were questions on the page I had never seen before. My heart raced. I knew none of it. My mind was filled with panic. I felt stupid, frustrated, and defeated before I had even tried. When I finished. Angry, embarrassed, overwhelmed. I walked to the front of the room, placed my mostly blank exam on the stack, walked back to my seat… and I threw my pencil at the teacher. That was my fight-or-flight response. Not disrespect. Not defiance. Just a kid who didn’t know what else to do with the feeling of failure. I had to direct my anger somewhere else because it was too much for me. And in my family, frustration and anger were always directed outward, at something or someone. (Sorry, Mr. Parker 🫶🏽) That moment wasn’t about the exam. Although I blamed him and directed my anger towards him, it wasn’t about Mr. Parker.It was about a child with no tools to process frustration, mistakes, errors, or failure. Young Angelo needed someone to tell him: Your intelligence isn’t defined by this moment. Struggle is part of learning. Your emotions make sense and you can manage them. You are an important member of this classroom. This classroom is a place where you can make mistakes and learn from them.  He needed what Mr. Sandoval later worked hard to become. When I Became the Teacher I Needed Years later, as an experienced teacher, I started noticing my students doing the same things I once did: shutting down, withdrawing, joking their way out of discomfort, getting angry to hide insecurity, believing they “just weren’t good” at a subject. I saw myself in them. And I felt responsible for breaking that cycle. So I made emotional resilience part of the curriculum. What started as a Sports Psychology elective became part of every class I taught. We watched clips of athletes and other performers discussing mindset, perseverance, discipline, and failure. We talked about emotional control. We rewrote the stories students told themselves when work got hard. We repeated mantras like: “Failure is fertilizer.” “Mistakes are part of the learning process.” “Struggle is the workout your mind needs.” And slowly, I saw their thinking change. Students stopped saying, “I’m bad at this.”They started saying, “I’m working on this.” or “I’m getting better every day.” They approached writing tasks, essays, exams, and projects like athletes preparing for tough opponents — with mental framing, preparation, and confidence. I wasn’t just teaching content. I was teaching young Angelo everything he never learned. The Classroom Culture I Needed Students learn best when they feel: Seen Safe Supported Valued Emotionally grounded Challenged with care That’s why “Culture” became a cornerstone of the RISE UP classroom management framework I later created. Because without culture — without belonging, trust, and psychological safety — rigor means nothing. Classroom culture is what young Angelo needed most: A place where mistakes weren’t shameful. A place where effort mattered more than being right. A place where adults cared about the child, not just the subject. A place that recognized the emotional weight students from communities like mine carry every day. Why I'm Writing This I wrote this piece for two people: 1. Young Angelo A kid who was smart, thoughtful, creative, and capable — but didn’t always believe it.A kid who needed emotional coaching as much as academic support.A kid who needed adults who understood the world he came from. 2. Every student living that same story today Especially in communities like the one I grew up in. South Stockton is a strong and culturally rich community — a community that has also been historically marginalized, under-resourced, and overlooked. I proudly represented South Stockton as a teacher and always committed to giving students the education they deserved, especially multilingual learners, students of color, and students navigating trauma. I also wrote this for teachers who want to understand their students more deeply, who want to create culturally responsive classrooms, and who want to build learning environments that strengthen both intellect and identity. Because when I say: “Be the teacher you needed when you were younger…” I don’t say it as a slogan. I say it as a commitment I made to young Angeloand every student raised in similar circumstances. A commitment I’ve spent my entire career keeping.

Hey educators, Let’s have a real conversation about something I am passionate about: Multilingual Learners (MLs) —also known as English Learners (ELs) . If you're like most teachers I know, you’re already doing so much to support these students. But at the same time, you might be wondering: How can I do this even better? How do I make sure all students—not just native English speakers—are fully engaged, confident, and truly participating in academic conversations? EmpowerED Coaching  can help.  Why This Matters In California alone, we have over 1.1 million English Learners , speaking over 108 different languages. That’s a huge number— and it means every classroom, at every level, needs strategies that work specifically  for multilingual students. I recently attended the CABE Conference  in Long Beach and left more energized than ever about this work. Sessions like: “Coaching for Multilingual Excellence”  by Dr. Margarita Espino Calderon “Targeted EL PD to Enhance Site Programs”  by Dr. Kathleen Cifuentes “Let’s Talk! Leveraging Academic Conversations for Language Learners”  by Jane Choi & Robin Testa …all confirmed what I see every day as a coach: real change happens when teachers get consistent, hands-on support and actionable strategies they can use tomorrow . Coaching = Real Change Let’s be honest: how often have you left a PD session thinking, “That was interesting…”  but then never actually used what you learned? Research shows only 5% of teachers apply new strategies  after traditional PD. But when coaching is added to the mix—especially when it’s part of a cycle like a PLC or TLC—implementation skyrockets to 98–100% , and the impact on students is huge. That’s the magic of our 5-Day Coaching Cycle  at EmpowerED Coaching. What Makes Our Coaching Different? As someone who specializes in student engagement and collaboration , I know that what really moves the needle for multilingual learners is getting them talking, thinking, and working together —in academically rigorous ways. At EmpowerED Coaching, we focus on: ✅ Language & Literacy Integration  – helping you build vocabulary, embed sentence frames, and model comprehension strategies✅ Academic Conversations  – like those modeled in “Let’s Talk!”—chunk & chew, co-constructed writing, purposeful listening prompts, and structured partner talk✅ Scaffolded Student Talk  – guiding students from learning how to use  talk to actually learning through  talk✅ Cultural and SEL Integration  – because language development isn’t just academic, it’s social and emotional too✅ Collaborative Reflection  – where we look at what’s working, what's not, and set goals based on your students’ real needs Practical Strategies You Can Use Tomorrow One of the things I loved about the “Let’s Talk!” session was how practical it was. Here are some strategies we build into our coaching sessions: 🧠 Teach Listening Skills  – Not just expecting students to listen, but explicitly teaching them how to listen for cause/effect, sequence, and key details💬 Chunk & Chew  – Students pause mid-lesson to talk through what they’ve learned, using sentence frames and visual support✍️ Co-Constructed Responses  – Build speaking and writing confidence through guided, academic responses🎤 Picture Metaphors  – A creative way to get students talking about what multilingual learning feels like  to them, while building language in the process These strategies increase engagement, deepen comprehension, and give your MLs the confidence they need to participate fully in the academic life of the classroom. Supporting All Kinds of MLs We also know that no two multilingual learners are the same. That’s why our coaching is tailored to support: Newcomers Long-term ELs Students with interrupted education (SIFE) Dual-identified students (EL/SPED) Gifted MLs Heritage language speakers Whether your class includes beginning-level ELs or advanced bilingual students, we meet you—and them—where you are. Site Leaders—Let’s Build the Conditions for Teacher Growth If you're a principal, coach, or site administrator, your leadership matters. Sessions like Dr. Cifuentes’ reminded us that teachers thrive when we: 📆 Build repetitive coaching cycles into the school year🤝 Create space for teacher reflection and voice🎯 Use data and observations to guide meaningful PD📚 Focus on real classroom strategies, not just theory EmpowerED Coaching partners with schools to make that vision a reality—helping teachers feel supported and energized, not overwhelmed. Final Thoughts: We’re In This Together Multilingual learners bring so much to our classrooms—new perspectives, cultures, and strengths. But they also deserve instruction that meets their unique needs. And you? You deserve a coach who’s in it with you—helping you grow your practice, one conversation, one goal, one strategy at a time. So… let’s talk. Let’s collaborate. Let’s build classrooms where every student’s voice is heard —in every language.

Here’s What Happened I attended the 2025 CPM Teacher Conference in San Diego  with one goal in mind: to immerse myself in learning how EmpowerED Coaching can better support math teachers . While I’ve spent 21 years in the classroom and over a decade training teachers , math has never been my primary content area. So, I walked in with an open mind and math insecurity as a history teacher, ready to learn like a student . The keynote, delivered by Dr. Nicole Joseph , struck a personal chord. She introduced the concept of “math trauma” , and instantly, I was transported back to my own struggles in high school math —standing at the board in 9th grade Honors Algebra , staring at an equation, completely lost, while my teacher waited for an answer I couldn’t give. Shout out to Mrs. Ragasa. The same feeling resurfaced my sophomore year in Geometry , when missing class due to illness left me drowning in unfamiliar theorems. Shout out to Mr. Huie.  Now, as an intervention teacher , I see these same emotions in my students— frustration, insecurity, and the belief that they “just aren’t math people.”  Algebra and Geometry consistently have the highest failure rates  among freshmen and sophomores , disproportionately affecting students of color . Dr. Joseph’s research confirmed what I’ve seen firsthand: African American female students are significantly underrepresented in higher-level math courses . But she didn’t just present the problem—she presented a solution . Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) , a framework centered on collaboration, risk-taking, and engagement , has the power to transform students’ perception of math  and their confidence in their own abilities . After two days of intensive training, I left convinced that BTC strategies are essential for improving math instruction  and that EmpowerED Coaching can help teachers bring them to life in their classrooms. Here’s What I Learned Over the course of two days at the 2025 CPM Teacher Conference in San Diego , I immersed myself in sessions focused on Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC)  and shifting instructional practices to encourage deep mathematical thinking, problem-solving, and student autonomy . One of the most impactful takeaways came from Peter Liljedahl’s research  on BTC, which identifies 14 key elements  that turn a traditional math classroom into an active, engaging, student-centered learning environment . Some of the most powerful ideas included: Vertical, non-permanent workspaces : Having students solve problems on whiteboards and walls  fosters collaboration, reduces hesitation, and encourages real-time thinking. Visibly random grouping : Randomly assigning students to new groups every class period  prevents social hierarchies and ensures all students are engaged. Verbal task delivery : Instead of giving students written instructions, teachers should deliver problems verbally  to promote active listening and classroom discussion. Encouraging productive struggle : Teachers must resist the urge to rescue students  at the first sign of struggle. Instead, they should guide students toward peer collaboration  and offer strategic hints to keep thinking moving forward. In another session, Crystal Frommert  highlighted how teachers unknowingly do too much thinking for students , often answering questions before students have a chance to truly engage. She provided five strategies to shift the cognitive load back to students : 🔹 Be comfortable with silence  – Give students time to process and struggle productively  instead of jumping in with answers.🔹 Ask guiding, not leading questions  – Instead of "Did you check your work?" try "What strategy could you use to verify your answer?"🔹 Resist over-explaining  – Keep explanations concise and let students do the heavy thinking .🔹 Encourage peer-to-peer questioning  – Create a classroom culture where students rely on each other first  before turning to the teacher.🔹 Normalize multiple solution paths  – Emphasize that math isn’t just about getting the “right answer,” but about understanding multiple approaches . It became clear to me that many of these high-impact strategies  align directly with the services EmpowerED Coaching provides , especially in supporting math teachers who want to implement BTC, increase student engagement, and build confidence in struggling learners . Here’s What I Urge You to Do If you’re a teacher :🔹 Reflect on your classroom practices—are you thinking for your students  more than you should?🔹 Experiment with student-centered strategies  like vertical workspaces, peer discussions, and delaying direct answers.🔹 Create a culture of collaboration and productive struggle  so students see mistakes as learning opportunities. If you’re a school or district leader :🔹 Recognize that Building Thinking Classrooms isn’t just a trend —it’s a research-backed framework proven to increase student engagement and achievement .🔹 Invest in professional development and instructional coaching  to help teachers implement these strategies effectively .🔹 Provide ongoing teacher mentorship, classroom coaching, and real-time feedback  to ensure these changes stick and impact student learning long-term . This is exactly where EmpowerED Coaching comes in.Through customized professional development, classroom coaching, and mentorship, I help teachers: Implement BTC strategies that transform math instruction Increase student engagement, risk-taking, and collaboration Support Multilingual Learners  by strengthening academic language development Shift their teaching from teacher-led to student-centered learning The 2025 CPM Teacher Conference  reaffirmed my belief that small instructional shifts can lead to major student gains —but only if educators receive the training and support to implement them effectively . EmpowerED Coaching  is here to provide that support. Want to learn more? Visit   www.empoweredcoachinginc.com  to see how I can help your school or district! #EmpowerEDCoaching #BuildingThinkingClassrooms #CPMTeacherConference #MathEducation #StudentEngagement #MathConfidence #FailForward #ProductiveStruggle #TeacherSupport #MathEquity #ProfessionalDevelopment #MultilingualLearners