Jacqueline Batista, Kaitlin Beltre, Beth Evans, Renee Finneran, Danielle Golub, Cydnee Sanders, Jovanna Tetreault, Rochelle Verstaendig, and Judy Zivan are the most recent graduates of our Trainer of Trainers professional development.
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Jacqueline Batista
Garnerville, New York
K-12, special education
Profesora Batista is an experienced and accomplished professional in the field of education, with a diverse background that spans over 30 years in two careers. Her expertise is focused on working with multicultural, diverse, and migrant populations. She has a deep understanding of the unique needs and challenges of multicultural learners. Her primary role as a bilingual teacher has allowed her to work within a variety of instructional models emphasizing the importance of linguistic diversity and cultural responsiveness. In addition to being a Bilingual Educational Evaluator for the North Rockland Central School District, Profesora Batista serves as an Adjunct Professor at LIU Hudson in the Teacher Education Program where she imparts her expertise in multicultural education to future teachers. She is committed to helping students acquire proficiency in their native and second languages regardless of age. Her transition from a successful career in broadcast television working with educational media giants, such as Nickelodeon, Discovery, National Geographic, and Univision to a distinguished educator, showcases her versatility and ability to bridge the gap between media and education. Profesora Batista has published a series of bilingual books and videos for the zero-to-five age group to empower families to embrace and celebrate the gift of two languages. She received her graduate degrees from LIU Hudson in Elementary Bilingual and Special Education, Educational Leadership, and is presently working on her Doctorate in Transformational Leadership. Contact her at jackiebatista@icloud.com
Kaitlin Beltre
Phoenix, Arizona
Adult & vocational education
Kaitlin Beltre is a bilingual educator who currently works with a Major League Baseball organization to educate international players in the areas of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and High School diploma completion in the players’ first language of Spanish. She has worked for the last 5 years with transnational athletes ranging from ages 16-25, many of whom also have interrupted prior education and can be classified as LESLLA learners. She graduated with her MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Hamline University in 2021. Her Capstone project was a curriculum for transnational LESLLA athletes that explored how MALP and explicit strategy instruction can increase the effectiveness of peer interaction in the classroom.
Beth Evans
Cypress, Texas
K-12, Secondary & Vocational
Beth Evans has been teaching English learners for more than 20 years, in settings from kindergarten to adult, a second-career journey that started with a two-year stint teaching English in Sichuan, China, with the Peace Corps. Beth has taught at public schools in New York City, Orlando, Burlington, Vt., Champaign, Il., and Washington, D.C. She currently is teaching in the New Arrivals Center Program at a middle school in Cypress, Texas.She has been a coach for general education teachers of English learners, an intake specialist and changemaker. She is a prolific presenter, with most of her work focusing on Students with Limited and Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) and technology integration, particularly for English learners. Beth was named a WIDA Fellow for the 2023-24 school year. She earned her master’s degree at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Renee Finneran
Yonkers, New York
Elementary Education
Renee Finneran is a dedicated and accomplished educator with a passion for fostering language proficiency and academic success. Currently serving as an English as a New Language (ENL) teacher at Yonkers Public Schools, Renee brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her role. Her commitment to creating an inclusive and supportive learning environment is evident in her ability to engage students from diverse backgrounds and help them thrive in their language acquisition journey. Renee is particularly focused on students with limited or interrupted formal education (SIFE/SLIFE). Her work with these students is heavily grounded in a holistic approach and as a practitioner of the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm – MALP®. In addition to her role at Yonkers Public Schools, Renee Finneran also serves as an adjunct instructor at Westchester Community College.
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Renee was a MALP® pracitioner before she was a trainer! Check out her comments here.
Danielle Golub
Hempstead, New York
Secondary, Mathematics
Danielle Golub is a highly experienced and passionate educator with an AA in American Sign Language, a BS in Mathematics, and an MAT in Secondary Education. She holds teacher certification in mathematics, special education, and ESL, and has over 24 years of teaching experience, spanning from 3rd grade to adults. She is currently serving as a high school English as a New Language (ENL) teacher in the Hempstead Public Schools in New York. Having previously taught math in a school for the deaf, Ms. Golub seamlessly transitioned to her ENL position, where she primarily works with SLIFE (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) and other newcomer MLLs (Multilingual Learners). She is dedicated to incorporating real-world skills into her classroom, with a special emphasis on leveraging technology to ensure that her students acquire the necessary skills for success both inside and outside the school setting. Beyond the classroom, she has worked with Herstory Writers Workshop to help newcomer students share their stories, and during COVID-19, she was involved in developing an online learning platform version of the program. Ms. Golub is continuously striving not only to enhance her own knowledge but also to encourage others to move towards culturally responsive classrooms and educational equity. She actively seeks out opportunities to mentor others, present at conferences, and deliver professional development.
Cydnee Sanders
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Adult Education
Cydnee Sanders has 7 years of experience working with adult English learners and completed her MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Hamline University in December 2021. Her capstone project was an Antiracist Praxis Study Circle, consisting of 10 hours of professional development on antiracist teaching practices. She has also developed and delivered PD on translanguaging, culturally responsive teaching, and antiracist volunteer and work culture. As a person of color who has felt marginalized in many spaces, Cydnee is passionate about creating PD that works towards justice in the classroom so that learners’ cultural and linguistic identities are acknowledged and honored. In 2023, Cydnee worked as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in South Africa where she continued her education in antiracist and translanguaging teaching. She is now working on how MALP fits into making classrooms as culturally responsive and sustaining as possible.
Jovanna Tetreault
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
K-12, Special Education
A graduate of Nyack College, wife, and mother to three boys, Jovanna Tetreault has worked with ELs for over twenty years in various capacities. She has assisted professional staff in building communication skills in the business world; advised families as they became acclimated with their new culture, assisting them in locating medical care, schooling, and successfully completing the citizenship process; and taken her ESL departments through three successful Coordinated Program Reviews with DESE. Jovanna currently teaches ESL at a special education collaborative servicing students who have been unsuccessful in traditional education programs due to significant emotional trauma and/or long term suspension. Jovanna works tirelessly towards her goal of ensuring that no student is forgotten or ignored and that every student receives a fair chance at an education. Her passion to develop healthy relationships with her students and their families creates a safe space so that they can successfully navigate the educational landscape as well as gain real world skills and become productive members of the local community and society at large.
Rochelle Verstaendig
Plainview, New York
K-12, Adult Education
Rochelle Verstaendig has been an ENL teacher for over thirty years. She is currently teaching Adult English Language Learners in the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District. She has been educating English Language Learners of all ages with varied educational backgrounds and various proficiency levels. In addition, Rochelle is a professional development consultant for Nassau BOCES and has presented on educational topics in conferences throughout in New York State.
Judy Zivan
North Rockland, New York
K-12
Judy Zivan is an English as a New Language (ENL) teacher who currently teaches upper elementary English Language Learners (ELLs) in New York’s North Rockland Central School District. The daughter of immigrants, Judy brings her passion and varied experiences with language acquisition to the classroom. She focuses her efforts in making academic English accessible to multilingual learners in a nurturing environment. Judy came to teaching as a second career, earning her MS in TESOL at LIU Hudson in 2014.
