NAELPA Membership 2022

Donna Albrecht

Director of Graduate Studies in Education, Coordinator of the ENL/ESL and Gifted and Talented Program

Indiana University Southeast

Donna Albrecht is the Director of Graduate Studies in Education and Coordinator of the ENL/ESL and Gifted and Talented Programs at Indiana University Southeast. She has taught both English as a Second Language (ESL) and secondary Social Studies and has administered in US and international PK-12 and college settings for over 30 years.  She designed and administered ESL programs in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and in the United States.  Donna leads a High Ability/English Learner Collaborative in conjunction with the Indiana Department of Education. Donna has an M.A. in TEFL from the American University in Cairo, an Ed.S. in School Superintendency from Ball State University, and an Ed.D. from Ball State in Educational Administration and Supervision. She has administrative and teaching credentials in ENL/ESL, Gifted and Talented and Social Studies. Her research focuses on the attributes, professional development needs, and policy issues of the leadership of PK-12 ESL programs, identifying and teaching English learners with high abilities, and effective training of teachers who work with English learners.

• 10:30 - 11:15 AM, March 22, 2022 Virtual

  NAELPA Networking Coffee Chat - Dual-Identified Students: MLs and Special Education and/or Gifted and Talented

• 4:30 - 5:15 PM, March 22, 2022 Virtual

  NAELPA Networking Coffee Chat - Dual-Identified Students: MLs and Special Education and/or Gifted and Talented

Marcy Voss

Marcy Voss recently retired after 36 years in public education, having coordinated Gifted and Special Programs in several Texas school districts. She received her M.Ed. in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Gifted Education from Texas A&M University. During her career, she served on the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT) Board and as Chair of the Texas Education Commissioner’s Gifted and Talented Advisory Council. Marcy currently serves as Facilitator for the TAGT Emerging Leaders Program and Chair of the Gifted Education Special Interest Group for the National Association for Bilingual Education, in addition to working as an education product developer (Q3 Cards, TALK Cards, and Academic Language Cards) and staff development trainer for educators of gifted and multilingual students.

• 10:30 - 11:15 AM, March 22, 2022 Virtual

  NAELPA Networking Coffee Chat - Dual-Identified Students: MLs and Special Education and/or Gifted and Talented

• 4:30 - 5:15 PM, March 22, 2022 Virtual

  NAELPA Networking Coffee Chat - Dual-Identified Students: MLs and Special Education and/or Gifted and Talented

Carol Salva

Consultant

Seidlitz Education

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Dr. Carol Salva is an author and award winning educator with proven success working with under-schooled, multilingual learners classified as SLIFE (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) or ELD (English Language Development) students. Carol routinely works with EL program leaders to support their educators in effective yet practical ways.
Dr. Salva is a Seidlitz Education consultant and a former elementary, middle and high school teacher. She lives with her husband and three children in Texas.

• 4:00 - 5:30 PM, November 15, 2022 Virtual - Zoom

  Effective Literacy Instruction for Secondary Newcomers PANEL

Margarita Cruz

ESL Instructional Specialist

Aldine ISD

Margarita Cruz is a high school ESL Instructional Specialist at La Promesa. She holds a Bachelor or Arts in English and a Master of Education in TESOL. As a former ELL student, she felt the desire to become an educator from a young age. After graduating from SHSU in 2014, she returned to her hometown of Tomball where she served her community as an English teacher and ELL Specialist for 7 years. Two years ago, her education journey led her to Aldine ISD where she has now been a part of the La Promesa family for two years. Ms. Cruz is committed to being a lifelong learner in order to provide all students with the tools and support they need to be successful both inside and outside of the classroom.

• 4:00 - 5:30 PM, November 15, 2022 Virtual - Zoom

  Effective Literacy Instruction for Secondary Newcomers PANEL

Elise Diaz

Educational Consultant

Seidlitz Education

Elise White Diaz is well-versed in the challenges facing diverse students from difficult backgrounds.

Prior to her work in public education, Elise’s passion for trauma-informed pedagogy began when she moved to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to serve at a school for child laborers in the garbage dump. There she taught bilingual and ESL education at the secondary level, and learned so much from her students who overcame obstacles and went on to college.

Upon returning to the United States, Elise brought her experiences to a diverse district in North Texas. She wove together principles from culturally-relevant, trauma-informed education and language acquisition in innovative ways, bringing dramatic gains in standardized test (STAAR) scores. Soon after, she began to mentor and coach teachers in how to recreate these routines. Elise has served in various roles in Emergent Bilingual education, including co-teaching, instructional coaching, writing curriculum, and offering professional development to Texas schools.

As a consultant for Seidlitz Education, Elise enjoys supporting teachers in their important work of building language and connection across cultures and obstacles. She holds a Master’s degree from Fuller Seminary in Intercultural Studies and lives in the Dallas area with her husband and two children. She is a member of the National Association for Bilingual Education and Women-for-Orphans-Worldwide, and returns to Central America wherever she can.

• 4:00 - 5:30 PM, November 15, 2022 Virtual - Zoom

  Effective Literacy Instruction for Secondary Newcomers PANEL

Emily Francis

Educator

Concord High School

Astrid Emily Francis is a nationally recognized English as a Second Language teacher at Concord High School in Concord, North Carolina. She serves students in 9th-12th grade with various English proficiency levels. Emily is a native Spanish-speaker who is originally from Guatemala and came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor. Her experience as an English Language Learner inspired her to become an ESL teacher and affords her a deep understanding of the challenges her students must overcome to find success. Emily earned a BA in Spanish and a MAT in ESL from UNC-Charlotte. She serves as a professional development facilitator, motivational speaker, and Keynote. Emily forms part of the Executive Board of The Carolinas TESOL (teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages).
Emily is the author of If You Only Knew: Letters from an Immigrant Teacher. Emily served as teacher liaison to the Cabarrus County Board of Education as
Teacher of the Year 2016. As a leader, Emily’s focus is to inspire students to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more.

• 4:00 - 5:30 PM, November 15, 2022 Virtual - Zoom

  Effective Literacy Instruction for Secondary Newcomers PANEL

Denise Furlong

Assistant Professor/Director of Advanced Studies for Reading Specialist & ESL Programs

Georgian Court University

Dr. Denise Furlong holds an EdD in Literacy Education with a concentration in educating English learners from Rutgers University. She is an Assistant Professor and Director of Advanced Studies for the Reading Specialist and ESL Programs at Georgian Court University in New Jersey, USA. She has over 20 years experience teaching multilingual learners and coaching their teachers in a variety of educational settings. Her book, Voices of Newcomers: Experiences of Multilingual Learners, was published through EduMatch Publishing in 2022 and has been honored as an outstanding teacher resource for multicultural education. Through Furlong Educational Consulting LLC, Dr. Furlong provides professional learning support for educators through national conferences, presentations, and in-district coaching. Her research interests include authentic and meaningful professional learning for preservice and current educators, inclusive practices for learners with diverse strengths and abilities, and connective and responsive pedagogical practices in school communities.

• 4:00 - 5:30 PM, November 15, 2022 Virtual - Zoom

  Effective Literacy Instruction for Secondary Newcomers PANEL