Since 2015, Kara and Megan have been working with teachers at department trainings, district PDs, and one-on-one online coaching. They have worked across the United States as well as several countries throughout Asia. Their trainings unite language programs and help teachers by showing how they (as classroom teachers) implemented proficiency: creating performance-based assessments, learning to grade with a common rubric, developing engaging lessons inspired by the target culture, and improving curriculum.
Pequonnock, NJ – August 2022
Pompton Lakes, NJ – August 2022
New Century School, MN – August 2022
Washington County Public Schools, MD – August 2022
St. Louis Summer Kickoff – August 2022
Crown Point High School, IN – August 2022
Columbus Schools, OH – January 18, 2022
DECTFL, DE – Online Series, 2021-2022
Watchung Hills Regional School, NJ – 2018-2022
Bedford Public Schools, MA2021-2022
Hamden, NH – 2021
Falmouth, MA – Dec. 7, 2021 & August 2022
Anoka Public Schools, MN – October 2021
MCTLC + Minneapolis Public Schools, MN – Somali Elementary Program, Nov. 5, 2021
MaFLA Conference Workshop, MA – October 23, 2021
Episcopal, PA – June 7, 2021 & 2022
AATSP, Twin Cities, MN – Online Conference May 8, 2021
Ector County, TX – April 23, 2021
American Community School, Abu Dhabi – 2019-2021
CSCTFL Conference, Minneapolis, MN – March 2020
Minnesota Department of Education, Spring 2019
Wayzata Public Schools, November 2019 – Plymouth, MN
St. Paul Academy, November 2019 – St. Paul, MN
MCTLC, October 2019 – Plymouth, MN
AATSP, Twin Cities, MN – October 2019
MNTS Tamil School, MN – September 2019
Minnesota Department of Education / Native American Education Department, June 2019
KWLA, June 2019 – Lexington, KY
Fayette Co. Schools, June 2019 – Lexington, KY
CSCTFL Conference, March 2019 – Columbus, OH
SCOLT Conference, March 2019 – Myrtle Beach, SC
Minnesota Department of Education, Spring 2019
Charleston County School District, February 2019 – Charleston, SC
CCFLT Conference, February 2019 – Denver, CO
West Hartford Public Schools, November 2018 – Hartford, CT
Hamilton Township School District, November 2018 – NJ
Watchung Hills High School, October 2018 – Warren, NJ
Cape Code Collaborative, October 2018 – Cape Cod, MA
“I like the modern day approach with all the authentic resources from Twitter and FB.
Processing time and time to talk with colleagues was also a key feature.”
– WL Specialist
MNTS Tamil School, September 2018, MN
Duxbury Public Schools, August 2018 – Duxbury, MA
Tabor Academy, August 2018 – Marion, MA
Horry County Schools, August 2018 – Conway, SC
Parkway School District, July 2018 – St. Louis, MO
Columbus City Schools, June 2018 – Columbus, OH
Katy ISD, June 2018 – Katy, TX
Oak Park River Forest High School, June 2018 – Chicago IL
Williamson County Schools, May 2018 – Franklin, TN
Cambridge Public Schools, April 2018 – Cambridge, MA
FLENJ – Pre-conference Workshop April 2018 – Iselin, NJ
Hamilton Township School District, March 2018 – Hamilton, NJ
Pinkerton Academy, March 2018 – Derry, NH
Wayland Public Schools, March 2018 – Wayland, MA
Ramsey Public Schools, February 2018 – Ramsey, NJ
Parkway School District, February 2018 – St. Louis, MO
Lamar Consolidated ISD, February 2018 – Houston, TX
Cambridge Public Schools, December 2017 – Boston, MA
Showing off REAL examples of ACTFL’s proficiency levels.
ACTFL National Conference, November 2017, Nashville TN
Foreign Language Association of Missouri (FLAM) Keynote: The Power of Culture, October 2017 – MO
Columbus City Schools, September 2017 – Columbus, OH
Richland One, August 2017 – Columbia, SC
Horry County, August 2017 – Conway, SC
“Wow. Just experienced CLC first hand during PD today and am going home to binge read all the blogs.
Thank you so much for your energy, enthusiasm, and willingness to share! I can’t wait for this year!!”
Toni Boyle
German Teacher
HEB ISD, August 2017, TX
Katy ISD, August 2017 – Houston, TX
Columbus City Schools, June 2017 – OH
Richland One, June 2017 – Columbia, SC
Souhegan High School, May 2017 –
Apple Valley Unified District, April 2017 – Apple Valley, CA
FLENJ, March 2017 – NJ
Ramsey Public Schools, March 2017 – Ramsey, NJ
St. John’s, February 2017 – Houston, TX
Lamar Consolidated ISD, February 2017 – Houston TX
Apple Valley Unified District, January 2017 – Apple Valley, CA
Jefferson County Public Schools, January 2017 – Louisville, KY
Ramsey Public Schools, January 2017 – Ramsey, NJ
“Best workshop we ever had!” “Wow!” “I can’t wait to make changes!” These are quotes from teacher feedback forms after our PD workshop with Megan & Kara. As a department, we have been studying and discussing proficiency and best practices in world language instructional settings for quite some time. Megan & Kara shared their innovative approach to developing authentic lessons and measuring student growth with proficiency rubrics. So many teachers have said everything is starting to “click” now! Teachers are leading with culture, setting and sharing daily communicative goals, and embracing new approaches to grading. Megan & Kara were dynamic presenters that easily connected with teachers and the daily teaching experience. We can’t wait to have them back!
Ruthanne Cairoli
Supervisor of World Languages & ELL at Ramsey Public Schools, MA
Berkshire Organization for Language Teachers (BOLT), November 2016 – MA
“I am a 20+ year veteran teacher who is just starting to learn about the Proficiency-based classroom. Prior to Megan and Kara’s workshop, I had a limited amount of training about the proficiency-based classroom approach to language learning, but had not done much work with the practical, what-it-looks-like-on-the-ground. Kara and Megan were exactly what I needed. They presented in an entertaining manner that engaged the audience in an inclusive manner, meeting each participant at his or her level of experience. Our particular workshop focused on Culture, which provided an easy entry point into trying out a proficiency-based approach without changing one’s entire approach to teaching. I enthusiastically recommend them for professional development training.”
Dan Bouvier
President, Berkshire Organization of Language Teachers
Waunakee Schools, October 2016 – Waunakee, WI
Montana Association for Language Teachers (MALT), October 2016 – Helena, MT
Jakarta Intercultural School, September 2016 – Jakarta, Indonesia
“(Since the workshop) I have already done the activities with the writing rubric (the JIS story) and the kids got it [proficiency levels] and are becoming familiar with its use. We are already using the stamp worksheet as a review sheet and evaluation of their learning throughout the unit. So thank you, thank you; it is a work in process and it is working indeed.”
Laure Kruger
Middle School French Teacher at Jakarta Intercultural School, Jakarta Indonesia
East Grand Rapids Schools, August 2016 – Grand Rapids, MI
Katy ISD, August 2016 – Houston, TX
Clear Creek ISD, August 2016 – Houston, TX
Amarillo School District, August 2016 – Amarillo, TX
Harvard-Westlake Schools, June 2016 – Los Angeles, CA
Dawson Schools, June 2016 – Dawson,CO
FLENJ, May 2016 – NJ
IEFLA, April 2016 – San Bernardino, CA
Concordia International Shanghai, April 2016 – China
Santa Rosa City Schools, March 2016 – CA
As a teacher who has “ditched my textbook”, I was dying to spend more time with you.
I love your style of teaching and I am ready to revamp again.
Carol Kovatch
Middle School Spanish Teacher in Santa Rosa County, CA
SAU 39 (Souhegan & Amherst), February 2016 – NH
Pinewood School, January 2016 – CA
ACTFL, Pre-convention Workshop, November 2015 – San Diego, CA
Texas Foreign Language Association (TFLA), October 2015 – TX
BOLT, October 2015 – MA
I first heard about Megan and Kara and the Creative Language Class through a friend in the Middlebury Language Schools. I began following their blog and really started to get excited about the ideas they had about proficiency-based instruction. At their Zoom into Culture workshop, they helped bring to light all of my wildest dreams for teaching and instructing students in a way that takes the focus away from “What’s my grade?” and that centers it more on “How can I communicate more?”. Their workshop also helped me identify my areas of strength and weakness in what I had already attempted to do to make the shift in instruction and what was still left in the dark ages. It then sparked an internal roller coaster between anxiety of changing what I had already been working on for years and the new excitement of knowing that my students might actually get excited about learning a new language! Kara and Megan made this roller coaster bearable through their dynamic presentations, their encouragement in the breakout sessions, and how approachable they both are as individuals. I am looking forward to attending more of their workshops in the future to continue this journey!
Maria A. Barbaglia
Spanish Teacher, Berkshire County, Massachusetts
EARCOS / Korea International School, August 2015 – Seoul, South Korea
“I went to the [EARCOS] workshop in Korea which in my opinion it was fantastic.
I can’t stop using your website and ideas.”
Raquel Parra Tong
Middle/High School Teacher at Concordia International School, Shanghai, China
Jamestown Community College, August 2015 – Jamestown, NY
Padua Academy, August 2015 – Wilmington, DE
TELL Collab 2015 – Austin, TX
SWCOLT 2015 – Broomfield, CO
ACTFL 2014 – San Antonio, TX
KWLA 2014 – Lexington, KY
JCPS New Teacher Induction 2013 – Louisville, KY
Liberty Christian School, 2013 – Argyle, TX
Jefferson Co. Public Schools, 2012 – Louisville, KY
Fayette Co. Public Schools, 2012 – Lexington, KY
KWLA 2011 – Lexington, KY
CSCTFL 2011 – Indianapolis, I
KWLA 2010 – Lexington, KY
Need a workshop? A keynote Speaker?
A problem-solver?
We’d love to work with you!
Email us at creativelanguageclass@gmail.com to answer any questions or talk about workshop options for you.