A Value Worth Celebrating: Bilingualism Through Fair and Equitable Programing

I was a junior in High school when I was no longer identified as an English Learner.  My ESL class that was no longer needed opened up a spot in my schedule. “You can take an elective class” my counselor said. After a quick review of the available courses, I opted for creative writing with…

A Linguistic and Cultural Journey: An Educator’s Mindset and Motivation

Long are the days from when I was a middle school newcomer and my goal as a student was to learn English, graduate from the bilingual program and assimilate to a new culture. As a parent of emerging bilingual kids, I’m thankful to all the teachers and leaders who embrace the dual language movement.

What is Inner Strength? & What can it do for our life?

A few days ago, I participated in a twitter chat where the topic discussed was “Inner Strength”.  The first questions of the conversation were simple yet powerful reflection prompts that motivated me to write this post.  The moderators asked, “What is inner strength?” And “ How can inner strength help you in your life?” This…

How can educational leaders influence ethical practices and behaviors in order to meet students’ needs while building a positive school culture and climate?

As I reflect about ethical practices and behaviors being influenced by school leaders and their impact throughout the entire school community, I think back to my days as a student.  It brings memories back about my interactions with my teachers, my school principal and the climate of my school and how their “character” which was…

What’s the deal with Total Physical Response? – An instructional strategy and an educator’s reflections

As a teacher, I've always look for opportunities to implement research based instructional strategies. As a school leader, I've always encourage my staff to do the same. However, what constitutes an strategy to be researched based? The Teacher’s toolkit for collecting and analyzing data on instructional strategies “provides teachers with three tools to implement an…