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Cristy Rauseo of Literacy Strategies Consulting
Jennifer Serravallo's Approved Literacy Specialist
Professional History
I am committed to fostering a joyful classroom environment where students feel safe taking risks in their learning and following their interests. I value instilling joy and the power of reading and writing in my students so that they can better learn about the world and each other.
I believe in the power of empathy and socio-emotional learning. I constantly look for ways to incorporate student interests into my lessons, valuing their unique gifts and talents. When planning my lessons, I ensure they are engaging and challenging while being age-appropriate, culturally relevant, and inclusive.
I use formal and informal data to drive my lessons and meet students where they are. Conferring with students is my favorite part of teaching. I love empowering children with tools to increase their independence as readers and writers and cherish the quality time we share during a conference where they feel seen and valued.
I am deeply enthusiastic about engaging and making a positive impact in my community through literacy events. For the last three years, I have led and organized book fair events each Fall and Spring to benefit the neighborhood where I teach. My students collect donations, sort through them, and give out books to the visiting kids.
Teaching
I began my teaching career in an elementary school in Houston, Texas. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, I moved to the United States eager to start my teaching career and make an impact on the growing Hispanic population in the Greater Houston area. During my time in Houston, I was honored with the Bilingual Teacher of the Year award in 2013 and the Elementary Teacher of the District award in 2015. After dedicating nine years to the Houston education system, I relocated to New York City.
In New York, I joined an immersion school, where I continued to develop my teaching skills and engage with a diverse student body. During this time, I also pursued my Master's degree at Universidad de Barcelona, Spain, enriching my educational background and expanding my expertise. In 2019, I was recognized for excelling in pursuing the science and art of teaching using technology and library media resources. Through this, I was able to provide and create opportunities to use and integrate technology to enhance teaching and learning.
Supporting and Coaching
Throughout my career, I have constantly sought ways to support my bilingual students, maximize my schedule to meet their needs, and unlock their potential as Spanish readers and writers. In 2015, my teaching radically changed when I started using Jen's The Reading Strategies Book, and along with my incredible colleagues, we began to find ways to modify the strategies for our bilingual students.
Years later, in 2019, while teaching in New York, Jen was getting ready to release her Libro de estrategias de Lectura y escritura; she used my classroom to film the book companion videos. Since then, I have been part of her team and have delivered workshops to educators nationwide. From my classroom experience, I know Spanish-speaking educators often seek quality resources to help students transfer learning between languages.
When I facilitate professional learning sessions, I enjoy meeting other like-minded bilingual educators and sharing research-based strategies for supporting their students, maximizing their time and resources in the classroom, and working together to empower students to tap into the superpower that comes with being bilingual.
Feedback from Participants
"Cristy is so well-versed in what she is teaching us, and I love that she is still a teacher and understands what it's like to be in a classroom right now. Everything she shared with us will be easy to implement immediately."
Amanda Bowers
Naperville, IL
"As an EL teacher, I loved that she brought in a bilingual lens and connection to vocabulary."
Kimmy Craig
Naperville, IL
"Cristy was a knowledgeable and resourceful presenter. I appreciated her "real world" experience and take on writing strategies. She was able to present many strategies that I can use immediately with my students."
Juliann Sturgeon
Teacher
Naperville Community Unit School District 203-IL
Naperville, IL
"Cristy is very engaging. She shared tons of practical and genuine examples of strategies from her work in the field."
Angelina Johnson
Teacher
Beaverton School District
Beaverton, OR
"Cristy did an amazing job making the work applicable, and she applied the work to help our dual language or bilingual educators. I loved that Cristy is still in the classroom and can give real-time examples."
Jordan Crownover
Teacher
Beaverton School District
Beaverton, OR
"Cristy is a passionate expert in her field. She brought Serravallo's text to life and gave multiple ways to implement strategies the next day! Presentations were thoughtfully arranged and allowed for work time with the text and strategies and with colleagues."
Nicole Safranski
Teacher
Beaverton School District
Beaverton, OR
"Cristy really kept the needs of multilingual learners front and center. She shared so many practical ideas, things we could all take & use the next day. I liked the way she referenced the books so that we could go back and look at the conferences or strategies more deeply. Excellent series and I'm so appreciative of the time and effort Cristy put into planning it! Thank you for including both Spanish and English examples."
Kerrin Moeller
Instructional Coach
Beaverton School District
Beaverton, OR
"Cristy's knowledge of reading and writing was very solid. Her own experience applying those strategies with her stories made the learning more grounded and relatable for our teachers. In addition, the fact that she teaches in a Dual Language program was very helpful for our DL teachers participating in the PD."
Miriam Elizabeth
Beaverton School District
Beaverton, OR
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