Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
In my 20 years of experience, I have consistently advocated for, led, and integrated myself in collaborative spaces to enhance my own craft, support teachers with strengthening their own, and transform students' learning experiences. Literacy and language have been a passion of mine, designing and teaching so that one supports the other. The teaching of both contents can only be achieved with intentional collaborative methods. I teach, design curriculum, and lead professional development with meticulous detail, being attentive to the language of the Common Core State Standards and the needs of teachers and students. I put culturally responsive teaching at the forefront of it all! Students, parents, and educators have rich experiences to offer, and I firmly believe that through collaboration and sharing of our cultural experiences, we can develop and implement exceptional instruction and profound learning.
Design ELD curriculum for multilingual learners (grades K-5) using backward design aligned to Common Core, WIDA ELP, CA ELD, and ELSF ELD standards. Validate and edit 500+ lessons and supplemental materials using Adobe InCopy and WoodWing Studio, ensuring quality and consistency across a professional publishing workflow. Apply language-acquisition and backward design frameworks to develop clear, scaffolded lesson content that makes grade-level literacy accessible to all learners. Edit and provide targeted feedback to team leads and writers on K-2 English foundational literacy lessons for dual language products.
Designed and facilitated graduate coursework grounded in culturally responsive pedagogy and multiliteracies. Organized live educator panels and recorded teacher interviews to connect students with current, innovative methods of collaborative ESL and ELA instruction. Provided 1:1 feedback to support graduate students’ analysis of CCSS and instructional practices for intentional lesson planning for multilingual learners.
Developed and facilitated engaging virtual ESL lessons for adult immigrant learners aligned to PA’s College and Career Readiness Standards. Monitored student data to track English language acquisition progress, using insights to inform lesson planning and targeted support strategies. Fostered a supportive learning community through consistent communication with partnering agencies and direct student outreach via WhatsApp.
Collaborated with ELA designers and ELD expert Dr. Rebecca Blum Martinez to select culturally rich texts and cohesively integrate ELD and ELA instruction across grades 2-4. Appointed Assessment Coordinator for grades 2-3, leading equitable assessment design for multilingual learners. Co-facilitated professional development at the 2023 EL Education National Conference on multilingual student support. Developed and led training for grade teams on ELD instructional design practices and research-based strategies to promote content-language integration.