Professional Learning That Turns Assessment Data Into Program Growth
Language programs are under increasing pressure to:
- Prove program effectiveness
- Increase student proficiency
- Maintain student interest and motivation
- Smooth transitions across classrooms, schools, and years
Proficiency testing gives invaluable data to reach these goals, but many programs lack the time, tools, or expertise to turn that foundation into action.
That’s why we began Avant More Learning.
Weekly Podcast Hosted By The MORE Learning Staff
Testing Alone Isn’t Enough. What Comes Next Matters.
Through a flexible mix of consulting, data analysis services, and online courses, Avant More Learning helps educators and leaders leverage proficiency data to:
- Find and address hidden program inequities
- Prove (and improve) efficacy to retain funding
- Sharpen educator feedback and reduce bias
- Plan for sustainable growth
- Ask deeper questions
- Turn siloed classes into streamlined pathways
- Strengthen teacher recruitment and retention
We support programs at every stage, from early implementation to long term refinement. If you’ve got a question, we’ll help you find an answer.
Where Improved Program Outcomes Begin
Custom Consulting & Coaching
Need help making your data actionable? No problem.
We work directly under the Avant Learn umbrella to help analyze testing data, clarify goals, and design next steps tailored to your program, timeline, and budget.
Professional Data Analysis
We’re in the business of language proficiency testing. We see a LOT of data.
Our biggest frustration is when programs test for graduation requirements or seals of biliteracy and ignore the gold mine of potential program understandings and improvements in their data.
We don’t just send you a report, our team will go through the data with you, asking questions, uncovering answers, pointing out discrepancies and hidden wins along the way.
Our goal is that you leave with the tools to analyze your data next year, a list of program goals, and a road map of how to get there.
If you encounter more complex questions next year, we’ll be here to support you.
On-Demand Professional Learning
As our consulting practice grew, we noticed similar questions being asked again and again. So, we built online asynchronous courses to answer them. Grounded in research and classroom practice, they are flexible, accessible, and affordable.
Our most popular course is Avant ADVANCE. Now available in 10 languages, it answers the most common questions language educators ask:
What is proficiency? How do you measure it? What differentiates one level from another? And, how do I communicate that with my team?
Our newest suite of courses is a set of Micro Credentials designed for new language teachers, middle career educators, and veteran instructors. They are designed for WL, DLI, and ESL contexts and will inspire new ideas and give you new tools to grow your practice, no matter where you are in your educator journey.
Read the course descriptions on our new online learning platform, and to get a sense for what a course would feel like,
Teacher Language Certification
Avant’s language proficiency assessments help schools recruit and certify qualified language teachers by providing objective evidence of their language skills.
For current educators, certifying your language proficiency helps demonstrate that you have the strong, real-world skills needed to teach with confidence and accuracy. It builds trust with schools and students while strengthening the credibility and impact of your language instruction.
Why Avant
Districts and institutions partner with Avant not just to measure proficiency—but to understand it and act on it.
We’re confident we can help your programs because we’ve been in your shoes. Our team has 70+ years of combined experience building, refining, evaluating, and improving language education from all levels – teaching, administration, research, and consulting.
We have deep expertise across K–12, higher education, and international contexts and bring to the table a deep alignment between assessment, professional learning, and program improvement.
Who We Work With
You name the program, we’ve worked with them:
- Public and private K-12 schools and districts, higher education institutions, international schools.
- World Language, Imersão em Dupla Linguagem, English Learner, Heritage, and Bilingual/Multilingual Education programs.
- Individual teachers, school and program administrators, district and state language leaders.
Whether you lead a classroom, single department, or large district, we meet you where you are.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Tell us what you’re trying to solve—proficiency growth, seal of biliteracy outcomes, instructional alignment—and we’ll help you identify the right next step.
Testimonials
Angela Sherman, Ph.D. Senior Director Bilingual Education & World Language Programs, Detroit Public SchoolsAvant’s professional development team worked overtime to craft learning sessions that were meaningful and relevant for both new and veteran teachers. Our teachers explored the differences between performance and proficiency along with turnkey instructional strategies based on best practices.
Eileen Frankel Spanish Teacher, World Language Coordinator, grades 3-12, Fairfield Public SchoolsI want to thank you again for the amazing PD you provided us. I felt you did a superior job then and after meeting with the teachers last week it was even more evident that you have opened doors and windows. Your presentation was intentional in so many ways and that in itself serves as a great model for the teachers. I will be updating the staff on our summer work and will leave the description of your presentation to the teachers who are still glowing with their new understanding of their role as educators. Their enthusiasm is awesome to say the least. Thank you again for your energy, your enthusiasm, and your devotion to our profession. Looking forward to many more opportunities to collaborate.
Packages and Pricing
Here are some of our standard offers. Contact us to create a custom package for your needs.
Workshops and Training Pricing
| Services Provided | Duration | Delivery Model | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avant ADVANCE | 1-year license | Virtual | $299 |
| ADVANCE Together | 6 sessions with an instructor | Virtual | $4,150 |
| Teacher Toolbox Series 1: Advancing Onward | 7 modules 30-60 minutes in length + synchronous discussions | Virtual: synchronous and asychronous | $9,200 for up to 25 teachers. Canvas seat license: $12/ participant (required). |
| Teacher Toolbox Series 2: Immersion 101 | 1-year series | Virtual: synchronous and asynchronous | $7,700 – $9,200 for up to 25 teachers. Canvas seat license: $12/participant (required). |
| Proficiency in Practice Series | 12 sessions | Virtual (may be partly in-person, if desired) | $9,200 for up to 25 teachers. Canvas seat license: $12/ participant (required). |
| Powering Up Proficiency Through Effective, Engaging Strategies | 3 x 1.5-hour sessions | Virtual | $2,100 |
| Scoring for Proficiency Through Collaborative Team Practices | 3 x 1.5-hour sessions | Virtual | $2,100 |
| Engaging ALL Learners, ALL the Time in Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, Through a Strong Learning Cycle | 3 x 1.5-hour sessions | Virtual | $2,100 |
| Strong Practices, Strong Outcomes, Strong Programs! | 2 x 1.5-hour sessions | Virtual | $1,400 |
| Language Proficiency 101 | 3 x 1.5-hour sessions | Virtual | $2,100 |
| Introduction to Proficiency for New Language Teachers | 3 x 1.5-hour sessions | Virtual | $2,100 |
Custom Workshop Pricing
Any of our virtual sessions or series can be customized and provided as a workshop.
| Services Provided | Duration | Delivery Model | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Avant Product Overview and Best Practices Orientation | 1 hour | Virtual | $350 |
| Full Day Workshop | 8 hours | Virtual | $1,725 |
| Full Day Workshop | 8 hours | Face-to-Face | $3,400 |
| Half Day Workshop | Up to 4 hours | Virtual | $1,400 |
| Data Dive Training for Data-Informed Instructional Practices | Up to 3 hours | Virtual | $1,400 |
| Customized Professional Learning Webinar | 1 – 1.5 hours | Virtual | $700 |
Meet the Team
World Language Educators and Trainers
Avant MORE Learning was established as a division of Avant Assessment in 2019. We work with a variety of programs centered around proficiency and achieving higher learning outcomes.
Our virtual and in-person training and learning opportunities can be customized through surveys, workshops, and online products. We provide timely training on best practices in world language, dual language immersion, heritage, and bilingual education settings to assist our partners with utilizing their data to best meet program needs and goals.
Brandee Mau
VP of Professional Learning
Dr. Brandee Mau joined Avant after eight years as a German and Russian Dual Language Immersion director in Utah and 16 years as a Wyoming high school German teacher and district curriculum facilitator. During this time, she developed curriculum and coached language teachers of all grades, contributed to multiple state standards revisions, served on state and national language association boards and committees, and worked to align proficiency and course expectations. Additionally, as part of the College Board committee, she created and developed the new AP German Language and Culture exam. She was also a Wyoming Department of Education Teacher of the Year finalist and an ACTFL National Teacher of the Year finalist.
At Avant, she works with diverse languages to create and establish STAMP WS assessments, ensuring inter-rater reliability, as the German Rater Manager, and with the Avant MORE Learning team as a Dual Language Immersion Specialist. Her research interests focus on effective language learning, assessments, and fostering potential in our profession and our language students. After hours, Brandee loves spending time with family and friends, reading, planning and enjoying new adventures, and working in her flower beds.
Our mission is to build shared learning communities through proficiency-driven practice.
Amanda Minnillo
Senior Professional Learning Specialist
Dr. Amanda Minnillo believes that empowered teachers empower students and that every child deserves a school where they feel welcome and appreciated. She believes that language learning and instruction provide the foundations for such schools. A former high school French teacher, Amanda most recently served as the World Language and Dual Language Immersion Teacher Support Specialist for Lexington County School District One in South Carolina. In this performance-based district, Amanda supported teachers through curriculum writing, individual coaching cycles, and whole-group professional learning. She has served as the Awards Director for the Southern Conference on Language Teaching, an advocate for the Leadership Initiative for Language Learning, and is on the executive board for the South Carolina Foreign Language Teachers’ Association for which she was president and editor of the Crescent blog. Considering herself a language fun-doer, Amanda presents at local, state, regional, and national conferences with a heart for topics involving inclusion, cultivating and powering up proficiency in the modes of communication and engagement through fun communicative activities presented in a learn-by-doing fashion. At Avant, Amanda works with professionals in the field to support language learning programs and instructional practices through Avant More Learning. In her free time, Amanda enjoys gardening, hiking, traveling to experience new cultures, and always aspires to learn something new.
Liza Trejo
Professional Learning Specialist
Dr. Liza Trejo has been an adjunct professor for ESOL certification and a middle school ESOL teacher. She has also been a DLI Specialist and Coordinator for World Languages and Immersion before returning to the classroom. Her B.A. is in Spanish, she has an MAT in teaching Foreign Languages and a PhD in Language and Literacy. She specializes in teaching teachers, language and literacy and curriculum development. She has led districts across the country to use data to improve instruction, incorporate literacy strategies in their language courses and create curriculum. She is certified in Spanish K-12, ESOL, Elementary Education and Literacy Practices.
Dawn Samples
Director for Professional Learning
Dawn joined Avant in 2019 following 15 years as the Coordinator for World Languages and Immersion for Lexington School District One in Lexington, South Carolina, where she created a completely performance-based and proficiency-driven program. In 2017, she was recognized as the Supervisor of the Year for the National Association of District Supervisors. At Avant, Dawn works with professionals in the field supporting language learning programs, instructional practices and assessments as the Director for MORE Professional Learning. Her goal is to provide high-quality professional learning opportunities for educators that will increase proficiency for language learners. Outside of work, Dawn enjoys spending time with her family listening to music, speaking French, running, hiking, exploring new adventures and learning about other people, their experiences and cultures.
Kathy Durán
Avant MORE Learning Specialist
MEDLI Team Member
Kathy is a seasoned senior-level school administrator and has dedicated her career to enhancing educational programs with a focus on equity and accessibility. Her experience in systems development, closing equity gaps, and implementing quality Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs underscores her commitment to creating inclusive learning environments. Kathy’s vision extends to integrating technology and innovation into education. She has been instrumental in developing accessible STEM education programs, preparing students for a rapidly changing world.