Many educators teach an increasing number of newcomer students such as immigrants, refugees, or asylum-seekers. These students need to acquire a new language as well as content in the language arts and other disciplines. This study explores how to share new ideas in literacy and language teaching and learning with teachers of newcomers while respecting historically, culturally, and experientially embedded education traditions in their unique context. Through a 2-year case study with one Polish as a new language teacher of primarily Ukrainian refugee students, the researchers shared innovative teaching ideas grounded in a constructivist framework and theoretically supported by the New Literacy Studies and the Multilingual Turn. Findings illustrate how the teacher was willing to try out new ideas in her classroom (inclusion of home language/s, teacher mentor texts, cooperative learning); held onto old ideas of how to teach (round robin reading, all text in L2, correction of all L2 production); and then also blended old and new ideas together (viewing students as multilinguals, oral translanguaging, and L1 reading). Through an analysis of the data and the many variables that affect this teaching context, the authors urge literacy and language scholars to consider the context for implementing new ideas with teachers, particularly in cross-cultural and cross-linguistic professional development environments. Further, this study suggests those who work with teachers should consider critical views, such as language ideologies and language awareness, to effect sustainable change for more equity in newcomer education.