Carissa Explains It All

  I am a teacher who stands up for my students against the machine of oppression , who is in favor of change against the tide of archaism , who is a supporter of the equities of education against suppression of individualism , and who is a defender of public education against a one size fits all educational model . I am a teacher who favors the permanent struggle against educational negligence and against the educational factory model . I am a teacher who rejects convention , because it is responsible for the imbalance in education today . I am a teacher who is full of hope , in spite of these times of darkness . I am a teacher who refuses to give up . I am a teacher proud of what I have learned from my students . If I do not struggle for better, attainable education for all , then I will no longer be able to call myself an educator.  

My birth name Carissa, the one given to me by my mother means " χαρις (charis)" meaning grace or beloved. I am a bi-cultural product of fate when my mother of European descent met my charismatic Dominican father in Providence, Rhode Island in 1985. She first fell in love with his 1978 Pontiac Trans-Am.  As a graduate of Hope High School in 2004 and subsequently Brown University in 2008 with a B.A. in Old World Art and Archaeology, my passion, aside from anything ancient, has always been education. For me personally, I wanted to give back to my community and education was that vehicle. I have been in the Providence Public School system for over seven years. I refer to myself as an educational warrior, I've seen many battles, but I am always up for the next educational fight. Second to New York, if you can make is as an educator in the Providence School system; you can make it anywhere. Currently, I am pursuing an my M.Ed. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages