Professional Growth Plan

Educator -- Advocate -- Innovator

Educational Technology Leader

Being a leader in educational technology will provide opportunities for language learners to succeed. Utilizing the knowledge I will acquire in my journey as a doctoral student, will allow me to bridge the gap and open many doors for resources and technological practices in bilingual classrooms. My goal as a leader is to continue to educate and advocate for underrepresented student populations and bring innovations in the field of language acquisition to continue to empower and provide the best education for my bilingual students. 

Philosophy of Education 

Teaching for thirteen years in urban communities, I know first hand the challenges and changes that need to occur in order to provide equity in education and technology accessibility. My vision as a leader is to educate unprivileged communities and empower them to take an active role in society.  After reading and learning Northouse’ servant leadership method, I could not help but feel deeply connected to this style of leadership. Servant leadership is the art of putting people first and offering professional development for followers to become leaders through fair practice. (Northouse, 2013). This approach provides the opportunity for children to reach their goals through an equitable education that embraces their growth through empowerment. 

 I was raised by a selfless single mother that instilled in me the importance and value of giving back to others. In all of my years of teaching, I have immersed myself in a life of educating and serving my language learners because once upon a time I was just in their place. It gives me great gratification and a strong sense of purpose to know I can pay it forward to that same student population providing them with the tools and confidence to feel that they can also take an active part and bring about change in the world. 

Professional Action Plan 

2021-2022 

• Complete semesters successfully

• Continue to upgrade my digital portfolio: leadership & service

• Attend National Association of Bilingual Educators (NABE) Annual Conference in New York City

• Present Spanish workshop for parents at my district on Google Classroom

• Develop and collect ideas for my future dissertation through professional development workshops

• Develop communication skills  

• Create proposal for bilingual club at my school

• Identify Statistic 1-1 tutoring for next year’s course 

• Create and add my personal logo to my digital portfolio 

2022-2023

• Complete semesters successfully

• Pass the NJCU Educational Technology Leadership assessment

• Pass Statistic course

• Synthesize my dissertation topic from theory to practice 

• Launch bilingual support club at my school

• Develop professional development workshops for bilingual parents and students on Educational Technology

• Join the NJTESOL chapter of Passaic County 

• Attend and create content for NJTESOL

• Present with Manuel Algarin on Gamification and Game-based Learning with a Special Focus on Identity & Language Learning 

2023-2024 

• Complete semesters successfully

• Defend my dissertation 

• Present at NABE, TESOL, WIDA on a national level 

• Attend New Jersey Educational Computing Cooperative, Inc. 

• Create Bilingual Digitial Storytelling showcase for my school and district

• Meet activist Dolores Huerta & secretary of education Dr. Miguel Cardona 

References: 

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. SAGE Publications.