About English Learners Engage
At English Learners Engage, we love what we do, and it shows.
We’re an education consulting company with one focus: helping schools and districts serve their
English learners effectively. Few things are more rewarding than watching a multilingual student
find their voice, or seeing a teacher’s confidence grow as they discover what works. We get to be
part of those moments every day, alongside teachers, administrators, and district leaders across
the Deep South and beyond!
What We Do
Our instructional coaches lead professional development and workshops that are practical,
energizing, and built to send educators back to their classrooms excited to try something new the
very next day. We partner with schools and districts to strengthen their EL programs, including
program planning, program evaluation and compliance support.
Because we never want cost or geography to stand between a student and support, we also
provide resources educators can use anytime:
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The 31 Things Your English Learners Want You to Know book series, available in bulk for districts and schools to use in book studies and similar formats
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Our free Listening Practice Library, which helps students prepare for English Language Proficiency Assessments
Our Approach
Supporting English learners shouldn’t feel overwhelming. It should feel like one of the best parts
of the job. Our work is grounded in real classroom experience and real student stories. We
happily take on the questions educators have but are sometimes hesitant to ask, because there’s
no such thing as a silly question when a child’s learning is on the line. Every learner walks in
with strengths, stories, and potential. We love helping schools see that and build on it.
Our Foundation
English Learners Engage was founded by Dr. Monique Henderson, former Director of Special
Populations at the Mississippi Department of Education. Her years of championing English
learners statewide sparked the passion that drives our work today.
Let's work together! Whether you’re building an EL program from the ground up or ready to take it to the next level, we’d be thrilled to partner with you.
About Dr. Monique Henderson
Meet
MONIQUE
AUTHOR
SPEAKER
TEACHER COACH
ADVOCATE
Dr. Monique Henderson is the founder of English Learners Engage, where she leads a team of instructional coaches supporting schools and districts across the region. She is also the author of 31 Things Your English Learners Want You to Know: Lessons from the Classroom and its follow-up, 31 MORE Things English Learners Want You to Know. A sought-after speaker, she has been a featured presenter at numerous national education conferences. She travels to schools, districts, and conferences to share the practical, story-driven lessons from her books. Her keynotes and workshops send educators home with real strategies and renewed excitement about serving their English learners.
Monique brings more than 20 years of experience in education to every session. That experience includes researching and writing about public education in Mississippi, Southern California, and Texas.
She began as a teacher, serving English learners, homeless students, and migrant students. She later worked as an English Learner consultant and project manager at an education consulting company. She also served as Director of Special Populations for the Mississippi Department of Education, where she oversaw the state’s initiatives for English learners, migrant, immigrant, neglected and delinquent, and homeless students.
Monique has provided extensive coaching and technical support to teachers, principals,
superintendents, and other leaders in more than 65 school districts. Today, she and the English Learners Engage coaching team carry that work forward together. Her expertise includes meeting the needs of English learners in rural schools and in schools with students from diverse linguistic backgrounds. She has worked in schools where English learners made up 75 percent or more of the student population, and in schools with just one English learner. That range lets her connect with any audience, whatever their EL population looks like.
A former journalist, Monique has co-authored three books on education and education
leadership. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Redlands in Southern California and Lone Star College in Texas.
When she’s not on the road speaking, leading her team, or writing, she and her husband Matt can be found cheering on their teenagers and trying to stay one step ahead of two rowdy and
demanding labradoodles.
Bring Dr. Henderson or the English Learners Engage team to your school, district, or
conference.
What Educators Are SAYING
"Dr. Henderson — known as Dr. H by so many of her students — is a talented, compassionate and knowledgeable EL expert with hands-on experience in the current classroom setting. I ordered her book and couldn't put it down. This is the manual all teachers and administrators need to have in their hands. Practical advice, real classroom solutions and valuable insight to help all English learners. I have been sharing her book with other educators, because I see the value offered that I couldn't find in expensive and 'perfect world' scenarios offered in the EL training offered to me previously."
Johanna Castillo
FORMER CONROE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT TEACHER
"I read this book through two lenses - the lens of an EL coordinator but also the lens of a second language learner. The tips and recommendations shared in the book hit home for me and expressed many of the recommendations I find myself making. Teachers who read this book will be better equipped to be the kind of teacher I needed as a child — and that’s powerful!"
Nancy Tillman
HINDS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
ENGLISH LEARNER COORDINATOR
"This book is an outstanding effort to provide teachers with a ready and easy to follow guide in serving English learners. The practicality and accessibility of the book is encouraging and exciting."
Jose Lalas
UNIVERSITY OF REDLANDS PROFESSOR & CORONA NORCO SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER