I am an English Language teacher at Saint Paul Music Academy. This will be my 19th year teaching. I have been in this very same building for 18 of those years. I love working with students from diverse backgrounds, and I love the creative challenge of helping them be successful in school and in English. For the 2020-2021 school year, I am excited to work with students in the following classrooms:  4th Grade: Ms. Christopherson and 5th Grade: Ms. Mentry, Dr. Ottino and Ms. Weiss. 

     Like many of my students, my family speaks a language other than English at home. My spouse is from Mexico, so we speak Spanish when we are together at our house. I know it takes hard work everyday to help my two children use BOTH English and Spanish. We also try hard to teach them to be proud of both their Mexican and American heritage! My goal every year is to work in partnership with families and the community to help my students become proud, successful, multilingual people, just like I want for my own children.  

   When I am not teaching, I love to read and listen to books, take long walks, keep up on current events, and binge watch my favorite T.V. shows on Netflix and Amazon. I also really enjoy going to special events in my community--it is important to me that I know my neighbors, and that I make an effort to learn about, understand different perspectives, and support all the diverse people in my world. And of course, whenever I can, I love to do all of these things with my family along for the ride! 

Meet Ms. Emily, Ms. De Avila's student teacher from the University of Minnesota