When ESL and Content Teachers Collaborate for ELLs: A Discussion Group

Kristen Buyce, ENL teacher, Albany City Schools

Kristen is an English as a New Language teacher in the City School District of Albany in Albany, NY, and has worked in the teaching field for close to 18 years. She has taught as both a public school teacher, as well as a college instructor. She has taught ENL at all levels K-12 and currently teaches in a sheltered ENL program at the middle school level. As a traveling instructor, she provided workshops on methodologies and strategies of second language acquisition to professors of English as a Foreign Language at their sister colleges abroad.  In addition to co-teaching in each of the four core content areas, Kristen is a part-time instructional technology coach in her district, where she creates and delivers professional development on best practices in integrating technology into curriculum to reach all learners throughout the district. Kristen is also a consultant for Clarkson University, presented at 2019 and 2021 NERIC Regional Technology Awareness Day, 2019 NYSAFLT AND COLT Conference, 2020 Clarkson University Winter Retreat, and the 2021 and 2022 Technology Integration Academy in the City School District of Albany.

Matthew Holland, Math teacher, Albany City Schools

Matthew has been a mathematics teacher in New York State for 13 years. His love and passion for teaching blossomed in the Bronx where he began his teaching career. During the last five years, he has taught eighth-grade mathematics at Stephen and Harriett Middle School in the City School District of Albany. He will begin his fourth year co-teaching in a sheltered ENL program this year. 

Jessica Lee

Jessica is an ESOL Resource Teacher in the Office of School Support for Fairfax County Public Schools.  She graduated from Virginia Tech and received her Masters in Education from George Mason University.  She was a first and second grade classroom teacher and an ESOL teacher before transitioning into her current role.  She has also served as a mentor teacher for K-12 ESOL teachers who are new to Fairfax County.  Her hobbies include reading, pretending she likes to exercise, traveling, hiking, cooking/baking, and listening to podcasts.

Katy Padilla

Katy is Language Acquisition Specialist in the ESOL Office of Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, VA.  In her current role, Katy facilitates professional learning and leads a team of EL Instructional Coaches who support K-12 content and classroom teachers with multilingual learners in their class.  Katy started her teaching career in Fairfax County Public Schools as an Elementary teacher and then earned her Masters in Education from George Mason University.  After spending a year in Jordan teaching English at an all-girls school, Katy came back to Fairfax and worked as an Elementary ESOL teacher for several years.  Throughout her career, Katy has collaborated with multiple stakeholders to ensure English learners’ success. 

Christine Passarelli

Christine earned her BA in elementary Ed and MA in TESOL both from CUNY Hunter College. She has been teaching for 18 years and has been at PS22 for 14 years.  She has previously taught kindergarten, and 2nd grade utilizing SIOP methods and has been collaborating with co teachers for eleven years. 

Mary Sandoval

Mary is currently an ENL and Literacy Lessons teacher in the Guilderland School District. She has been with Guilderland for nine years, and is approaching her 15th year as an educator. Ms. Sandoval has worked with students in Kindergarten through 12th grade in Integrated classroom settings, sheltered English language development classes, and as a literacy interventionist. Additionally, she serves in the capacity of Elementary ENL Teacher Leader and has mentored new teachers in her school and department. In the summer, Ms. Sandoval has the great honor of teaching as part of Clarkson University’s TESOL Department. She is also enrolled in the Leadership Academy at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and serves as a co-chair on the Capital Region NYS TESOL Leadership Team. In an effort to continue advocating for multilingual students, Ms. Sandoval is co-launching a blog entitled “Away We Go Learning” as a means to promote equitable language and literacy instruction for ALL multilingual students.

Elissa Ventura

Elissa earned both her BA in speech pathology and MA in Elementary Education from St. John’s University in Staten Island. She has been teaching at PS 22 for 24 years. She is currently teaching 4th grade ELA and SS. In previous years she has been a literacy coach and third grade teacher.