Chilean native Valeria Silva took over less than a week before Christmas as the superintendent of the St. Paul, Minn. school district.
My colleague Mary Ann Zehr has more on Silva on her Learning the Language blog. Silva worked her way up through the system, coordinating its program for English-language learners and later serving as chief academic officer. She’s also a Broad Superintendents Academy graduate.
Serving ELLs is a focus not only for Silva, but for her predecessor, Meria Carstarphen, who is now the superintendent of the Austin, Texas, school district and chair of the Council of the Great City Schools’ Task Force on English Language Learners and Bilingual Education.
Carstarphen recently gained approval from board members there to pilot a dual-language program next year. In such programs, the goal is that students become proficient in two languages.