From 1997 till 2017, working successfully as a Multimedia Producer | Editor, winning awards, and many recognitions. Every day, I would wake up with a big smile and many bright ideas to share with the news and the creative services department. However, deep inside me, I always had the desire to give back to my community what was once given to me. So, I elected to take a leave from the workforce in order to go back to school and I received the certification to become a Bilingual Educator.

As ELPT/Bilingual Education Teacher at PFC Omar E. Torres Elementary School , I work closely with our students in the bilingual program by providing instruction in two languages, English and Spanish. The goal is to help students learn a second language quickly while preserving their native language and cultural heritage. I'm also in charge of screening newcomers to the district, maintaining paper/digital students bilingual files, supporting staff with the best practices and supports for EL's, facilitating the annual ACCESS testing, and overseeing the parent Bilingual Advisory Committee (BAC).

While doing my Masters in Civic Media at Columbia College Chicago, and doing research about Bilingual Education, I saw the inequality, discrimination, and injustice towards Latinos. COVID-19 pandemic allowed me to work closely with the ELL Families at my school. I’ve been able to guide them and teach them about bilingual Education and their rights as citizens of this nation through weekly Bilingual Virtual Seminars and sharing information in Google Classroom and the Remind App.

The time that I was able to commit to my education and working with the Hispanic Community, has been invaluable to my professional growth, and I am eager to continue working with the EL Families in my school community and apply my newfound qualifications and knowledge to my job.

ESL / Social Studies teacher and ELPT at Multicultural Arts High School on the southwest side of Chicago

I have been fortunate to serve at MAS for the past 10 years. In that time, I have taught a variety of different classes including AP US History, Contemporary American History, Civics, Film Studies, and multiple levels of ESL. In recent years, I have begun to teach Media Studies with the goal of developing students' media literacy skills through analysis and creation. In 2015, I earned my Masters in Literacy Education. I act as our school's Student Voice Committee facilitator, civic engagement coordinator, and Peer Conference lead teacher. In addition, I have chaired the Social Studies Department and am currently the English Language Program Teacher (ELPT).

As ELPT, I work closely with our bilingual population by programming students into the appropriate classes, screening newcomers to the district, maintaining paper/digital student bilingual files, supporting staff with best practices, facilitating the annual ACCESS testing, and overseeing the parent Bilingual Advisory Committee (BAC). The coronavirus pandemic revealed a great deal of institutional weaknesses in our education system. These inequities were especially felt by our bilingual students as many struggled to access technological resources and the limited public benefits available. In creating this evolving site, it is my hope that, with so many uncertainties with the coming school year, parents and students alike will find the tools to make learning and living a little bit easier.