About CARE Coaching

Learning Forward Language of Coaching Graduate

Amy King has more than 20 years of experience in the field of English language teaching and learning both in the US and overseas. Before joining WCEPS, Ms. King was a Senior Professional Learning Specialist at WIDA for more than six years. She taught ESL in K–12 public schools, private language schools, and adult education programs. Internationally, she has taught in both Slovakia and South Korea. In Banska Bystrica, she was a visiting lecturer at Mateja Bela University. In Seoul, she worked at Shin–il High School as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant and at the Foreign Language Institute of Yonsei University. She was an English Language Fellow at Hanoi Metropolitan University in Vietnam through a program sponsored by the US State Department. She holds a BS in Speech and an MS in Journalism from Northwestern University near Chicago. She earned a TESOL Certificate from American University in Washington, DC and a Multiple–Subject Teaching Credential from National University in San Diego. In addition to certificates in Blended Learning, Microlearning and E–Learning, she earned a Master of Instructional Design from the Association of Talent Development. She is currently working on a MS in Educational and Instructional Technology also through National University.

Learning Forward Language of Coaching Graduate

Anna Sargent has 30 years in education serving various roles in public education.  She has served in the capacity of a middle and high school teacher, elementary and middle school administrator, and system-level director of federal programs. 

She teaches the ESOL endorsement to current and future teachers and serves as an adjunct online professor at Kennesaw State University teaching ESOL courses to future teachers. She received her BS and Masters in Education from UGA, Ed.S. from Clemson University in Educational Leadership, and Ed.D. from Georgia Southern University in Curriculum Studies.

Anna’s passion is advocating for MLL students and empowering teachers of MLLs with the tools they need to help support students and make them successful.  She also enjoys working with teachers and building-level administrators analyzing data to make informed decisions for MLLs.

Learning Forward Language of Coaching Graduate

Babatunji Ifarinu (Tunji) graduated from Florida A & M University with an undergraduate degree in History and Geography with teacher certification and earned an M.Ed at Georgia State University in Educational Leadership and Supervision. Conducting workshops on equity and access for culturally and linguistically diverse students, Tunji has advocated for students and teachers.  Tunji has been in the field of education since 1998 with 15.5 years in the classroom. He was formerly a sheltered social studies teacher who delivered instruction to immigrant students many of which had refugee status.  His other classroom experience includes primary, middle, and secondary inner-city schools. As an Assistant Principal of one of the most diverse elementary schools in America, he participated in raising the school’s score from 61 to 81. He has also authored and co-authored articles and book chapters on advocacy, equity, and access for Black Immigrants (Ch 7 Black Immigrants in the U.S. Peter Lang Publishing 2021) (Ch.15 Advocacy in EL Teaching and learning  Routledge Group 2019) (No Longer The Silent Subgroup Language Magazine 2016). Tunji builds collaborative teams and fosters instruction to improve and maintain the vision and climate of organizations.

Learning Forward Language of Coaching Graduate

Colleen LeCompte has over 30 years of experience in the field of education. She continues to teach at the Elementary level and works with grades K-6. Her teaching experience includes classroom teaching, special education, interventionist, and English Language Development.  As a Lead Teacher in her district, Colleen provides educational coaching and staff development focusing on academic, linguistic, and social-emotional challenges of culturally and linguistically diverse students. 

Colleen has a BS degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Stephen F. Austin State University and a MA in Multicultural Education from the University of New Mexico. She completed her studies in Linguistically Diverse Education at the University of Colorado, Denver.

She continues to work on numerous projects for her district and is a proponent of the Seal of Biliteracy and Parent Outreach Initiatives. Colleen is dedicated to language development for multilingual learners and looks forward to providing teachers instructional support to make language development and learning more effective.

Learning Forward Language of Coaching Graduate

Ivonne Perez has been a Special education teacher for more than 20 years in rural middle and high schools.  She got a masters in Bilingual Special Education from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Masters in Education with a focus on Autism from the New Mexico State University.  She has worked with verbal and nonverbal students. Ivonne has worked in different areas such as mathematics and reading with students with learning disabilities.  Prior to this she worked teaching ESL to maquiladora workers in Ciudad Juarez.

Jessica Fundalinski is a seasoned educator and scholar dedicated to fostering humanizing and inclusive learning environments for multilingual learners. She has more than ten years of experience in public schools working with multilingual learners as a middle school English learner teacher and department chair. She has also worked as a division-wide English learner specialist to support teachers and administrators in the D.C. metropolitan area.  

Currently, Jessica is pursuing a PhD in Teaching and Curriculum at Syracuse University.  Her research focuses on teacher education and preparation and presently is exploring the intersections of multilingual learners' linguistic development and humanizing pedagogy rooted in social justice, art and storytelling. 

She is a graduate of SUNY Oswego (B.S. Childhood Education), Syracuse University (M.S. Teaching English Language Learners) and The George Washington University (M.A., International Education).

Learning Forward Language of Coaching Graduate

Katie is a dual language educator from Woodstock, Illinois. She began her career as a primary Spanish-English dual language teacher and has spent nearly 15 years as a dual language facilitator, working to help grow and strengthen the dual language program which spans PreK-12th grade. 

Katie enjoys working with teachers to expand their capacity to help language learners thrive. She has undertaken various professional development initiatives in the areas of language acquisition and literacy and has led the development of units of instruction for biliteracy. She teaches in a local university’s ESL endorsement program, preparing educators to meet the needs of their diverse learners. 

Katie holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education with a minor in Spanish and she holds a masters degree in educational leadership with an endorsement in bilingual and ESL education. 

Katie is passionate about additive language acquisition. She and her husband are raising their young children bilingually and Katie marvels at the language and literacy development of her two young children. 

Learning Forward Language of Coaching Graduate

With over 25 years of experience in both private and public education as an English, ELL and Bilingual instructor, Laura Chávez-Dávalos is currently the director of the Office of Learning Services at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). In this role she oversees the provision of the college’s Bridge Program, academic strategies courses, peer tutoring, peer mentoring, academic coaching, study tables and disability services. 

A former high school ELL department chair, she has taught all levels of high school ELL and team-taught content courses to multilingual learners at the high school level. At the college level, she has taught ELL Composition and Bilingual Methods to aspiring educators.  

Chávez-Dávalos is a native of El Paso, Texas, who obtained a BA in English and MA in Curriculum and Instruction from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Cross-cultural and bilingual, Chávez-Dávalos is dedicated to removing barriers to student success at all levels and excited to serve as a CARE Coach at WCEPS.

Marisa Silva is a native of the New Mexico borderlands and was born and raised in Las Cruces. She grew up immersed in the vibrant English-Spanish environment of the sister cities of Las Cruces, El Paso, and Ciudad Juarez. Marisa received a master’s degree from New Mexico State University in Curriculum & Instruction with a minor in bilingual education in 2005, and returned again to graduate school as a James Madison Memorial Foundation fellow to the University of New Mexico, where she graduated with a master’s in United States history in 2013.

Marisa began her career in Albuquerque as a bilingual program coordinator and bilingual social studies teacher at Valley High School, where she also served as director of Ballet Folklórico del Sol, as well as on the first APS district-wide committee to craft and execute a uniform exit exam for the Bilingual Seal Program. In 2013, she moved to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area to work as an English Language Learner teacher at Alexandria City Public Schools, where she also served as ELL Department Co-Chair for eight years; she also completed a two-year foreign teaching leave in China and Indonesia. Over her fifteen-year teaching career, Marisa has taught bilingual U.S. history and world history; International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and Middle Years Programme English language and literature, and English language B. She has also supported STEM program multilingual learners in the English for Academic Purposes Biology I and World Civ. I courses and is a veteran co-teacher of World Civilization I, Biology I, and U.S./Virginia history. 

Nora has been a Dual Language educator for the past 12 years and is now a Dual Language Instructional Coach and Teaching & Learning Administrator in North Chicago, IL.  She holds a BA in Communication and Latino Studies, a MA in Elementary Education, a MA in Curriculum & Instruction with ESL/Bilingual endorsements, and is finalizing her dissertation for a PhD in Educational Leadership.  Her research centers around building capacity, confidence, and community through leadership and coaching in Dual Language.  She is passionate about elevating the voices of teachers and students to cultivate a love of learning, increase teacher retention, and improve learning outcomes for our multilingual students.

As a first generation Hmong American, Shoua has personally experienced the struggles that many of our students face in navigating the educational system in the United States.  Her life experiences fuel her passion to become an educator of over 20+ years. 

Her professional experience includes successful teaching and instructional leadership in private, charter, traditional public schools and EdTech start-ups. In her tenure as a principal, she was recognized as an educational leader to maintain student achievement growth over consecutive years. Shoua brings a wealth of instructional and systemic leadership skills ranging from team facilitation, building leadership capacity, conducting data-analysis, and leveraging community partners to inform organizational change.

Shoua received her Bachelor of Science in Human Development from the University of California Davis and Master of Educational Specialists from the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota.  

Learning Forward Language of Coaching Graduate

Mrs. Sampson has been an educator for over twenty years. She has worked in the university and public school settings.   Her mission is to provide targeted school support and coaching that results in equitable outcomes for all students regardless of race, socioeconomic status, ability, or linguistic assets.  Mrs. Sampson has developed and led a continuum of programs to support leaders, staff, students, and families in early childhood through college as well as to raise awareness and take action to end racial and social injustice. 

Mrs. Sampson has been an instructional leader for seventeen years, including six years as a principal. In this position, she worked with stakeholders to develop an instructional program that was rigorous and inclusive for all learners. She developed and implemented a peer observation program across schools, ESOL, and content co-teaching pairs at every grade level.  These shifts in the instructional program and targeted professional development for teachers resulted in double-digit growth for multilingual learners and students with Individualized Education Plans in mathematics and literacy on the state assessment. She received the Montgomery County ESOL Principal of the Year Award during her tenure. 

Mrs. Sampson has supervised K-12 ESOL programs in two Maryland public school districts. As a district leader, she coordinates and implements professional learning communities, She provides direct school support and coaching for teachers, teacher leaders, administrators, and leadership teams on leading for equity, school improvement design, curriculum and assessment implementation, data analysis, the instructional cycle, and the intersectionality of language development and culture. Mrs. Sampson has implemented school protocols for instructional rounds that included observation, feedback, and action planning aligned to school improvement plans.  Mrs. Sampson currently serves as an elected member of the Local Education Advisory Executive Board for WIDA.  Her other professional experiences include teacher, counselor, and district-level supervisor of science, social studies, and grading and reporting.

WendySue Clausson is an ESL teacher in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She has over 22 years of experience working with students from pre-K through adult education. She is more than a teacher. She is a building coach, a department mentor, a family liaison, and a FACE committee member. You may know her as a past president of VATESOL. Her experiences of providing PD at the building, district, state, regional, and national levels have taught her the value of networking and supporting each other within the field. Her most recent accolade was being named Teacher of the Year for the 2021 school year. The best part of her career is the relationships that she has with her students and their families!