Growing up bilingual in NYC
Language always interested me from a very young age. The child of immigrants, I grew up in NYC with a German mother and a Puerto Rican father. We spoke English and German at home, as well as a little Spanish. I attended NYC public schools from K-12. I also went to German school every Saturday where I learned how to read and write the language.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
After college I lived abroad, where I taught English for the first time. I absolutely fell in love with teaching English and continued working with adults for many years. This eventually led me to earn my degrees in TESOL at Teachers College, Columbia University and, eventually, my PhD in Linguistics from the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY).
Emergent Bilinguals
During my doctoral studies, my focus was drawn to the needs of our city’s emergent bilingual school children, also called English Language or Multilingual Learners (ELLs or MLLs). I gained extensive experience working in NYC and NY State public schools researching K-12 learners, coaching and training teachers on how to integrate content with language and literacy in a multilingual classroom, and designing multilingual literacy assessments for NY State, as well as curricula for Students with Inconsistent/Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE).
Since 2018, I have developed trusted relationships with NYC public schools with large populations of emergent bilinguals, and supported them to better serve their students’ needs.
Dyslexia
Having a child with dyslexia forced me to add another focus to my work: understanding language-based learning disabilities and the literacy skills necessary to develop fluent readers and writers. I am an Orton-Gillingham certified practitioner, and I help schools deliver systematic, explicit instruction in phonics, morphology, and other foundational literacy skills to all students, as well as support learners with learning disabilities.
Teacher Training
Since 2017 I have served on the TESOL faculty of the College of Staten Island, CUNY, where I teach and supervise future English as a New Language and Bilingual Teacher candidates. My experience working with pre- and in-service teachers has given me a deep understanding of what it takes to prepare individuals for effective instruction in the classroom.