About the Presenters

Michelle Spain is a language acquisition teacher in Worcester Public Schools, the second-largest district in Massachusetts. Michelle is a former marketing professional who has currently clocked over ten years of classroom experience. She is dual certified in math and ESL and currently teaches in a language development classroom serving students in grades 9-12 at EPL 2 and 3. She was a key member on her district’s curriculum writing team for English language development and was the primary author of most of the district’s common assessments for MLs. She most recently presented the curriculum project with her team at the MATSOL 2023 Conference. Her current focus is bringing joy and justice to the multilingual classroom and edtech for the betterment of multilingual education.

Alicia Serafin currently teaches English as a second language in the Everett Public Schools in Massachusetts. She previously taught English as a second language in Wilmington, Melrose, and Salem Public Schools. As a Sontag Prize in Urban Education Winner, Alicia has also had the opportunity to teach in the Lawrence Public Schools and a Salem Charter School in Massachusetts. She later became a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education-approved Professional Development Provider providing 15 PDPs in ESL and other courses.

She is proud of her role not only as a Modern Classrooms Project Mentor but also in the Massachusetts’ CUrriculum RAtings by TEachers (CURATE) initiative, having served as both a middle school facilitator and an elementary panelist since its inception. Prior to her roles as a Teach Plus National Policy Advisory Board Member and National Senior Research Fellow in the Equity Leadership Institute working group, Alicia was a Teach Plus Policy Fellow and Core Collaborative Professional Development Provider in the 5 District Partnership. Alicia graduated from Cornell University with a BA in French and received her MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management and Master of Arts in teaching English as a second language from Salem State University.

Lydia Crush is an ESL teacher and Modern Classrooms Mentor, living in central Virginia. They are passionate about reducing the barriers to learning that learners face due to language, disability, neurotype, financial resources, or race. They have been teaching high school social studies and supporting multilingual learners since 2018. They currently implement the Modern Classrooms model in their world geography class. They also co-teach geometry. They enjoy collaborating with educators to brainstorm and problem solve. They’re excited to join this discussion!

Toni Rose Deanon (they/them) is the Community Engagement Manager for The Modern Classrooms Project. They are a former English and ESL educator with 10 years of experience teaching in Atlanta, Baltimore City, and DC. They were also an instructional coach in Redmond and currently facilitate professional development for educators all over the world. They will forever identify as an educator and a lifetime learner. Toni Rose strives to be the educator that they never had growing up, so they focus on anti-bias, anti-racist work and want to create a brave space for everyone around them. As a queer Filipino, they understand just how important it is to be represented, be valued, and belong. They especially love being a thought partner for and celebrating educators.