About Me

I am a licensed coordinator and educator with twelve years of experience supporting linguistically and culturally diverse students from all over the globe.

Most recently, I have served as the PreK-12 Culture and Language Development Coordinator for Adams 14 School District in Colorado, where I have designed and implemented policies for identification, placement and redesignation servicing over 3,500 multilingual learners that have reduced placement errors by 60%.  I have also developed several half-day K-12 academic language trainings for the district which has led to a 50% increase in students producing target language.

Before moving back home to Colorado, I served as the K-12 district Language Support Services Coordinator for Daystar Academy, an International Baccalaureate school district in China which serves over 500 multilingual learners in two elementary schools and one middle school. In my time there, I facilitated full membership with the WIDA Consortium and implementation of the WIDA Standards Framework to inform instruction for multilingual learners. I also delivered WIDA CLIMBS training to our district, which helped the staff unify their approach to helping multilingual learners develop academic language and ensure their access to challenging, grade-level content.

In my previous position, I identified a need and worked beyond my job description to design and manage an award-winning literacy volunteer program, which provided students with over 3,000 hours of extra one-on-one literacy support. I also co-founded a newcomer academy to help Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) fill gaps in their educational experience and prepare to transition into the mainstream classroom.

I have taught academic English using the WIDA Standards Framework for several years in a range of settings, from international students in a bilingual immersion program to new-to-country immigrants and refugees from East Africa in an urban U.S. setting. I have also supported university-level literacy for adult learners in Vietnam, as well as teaching technology use to diverse learners in urban Minneapolis.

Driven by a belief in all students’ ability to learn and achieve great things, I am invested in each and every one of my students’ potential success. It is my conviction that the purpose of education is two-fold: foundational and functional. Educators should provide each student with the means to develop a curious, agile and analytical mind. But we also need to provide the student with situational fluency and linguistic/cognitive skills that can be applied across a number of contexts, all while drawing from the rich and unique pool of socio-cultural assets belonging to each student. This is the great joy of my field, for the teaching of language facilitates both of these educational goals. Read my full philosophy of teaching here.