Eden Orlando

Background

About Eden Orlando

When I began my educational career over twenty years ago, I was keenly aware of how lucky I was to enter a profession that I both loved and was skilled in. What I was not aware of was the myriad of opportunities that existed beyond the role of classroom teacher and the powerful impacts those roles could have on students. As a young high school English teacher in San Diego Unified, I discovered my passion and strength for working with English learner students and my role quickly expanded to not only teaching students, but also my peers, as I shared strategies and coached my fellow content area teachers in effective strategies for English learners. In addition to this expanded instructional role, I held positions as head of our English Learner Advisory Committee, Department Chair, Master Teacher, member of the Instructional Leadership Team, and head writer of our school WASC report. These roles provided a glimpse into the role of administration, and the power effective leaders, programs, and structures could have on the lives of students. In addition to these school-site-based-roles, I also held the title of Secondary English Learner Resource Teacher, working in the Office of Language Acquisition at the District level. This position provided robust training in the development and facilitation of professional learning for teachers of English learners. Here, I led the district’s pilot program of Academic Language Development courses, developed, and facilitated professional learning for teachers of English learners across the district, and presented and shared information with parents and community members via DELAC meetings. With the encouragement of many former mentors, I obtained my Administrator’s Credential, with no true idea of what would come next. Shortly after, an offer from a former principal soon came my way for a remote leadership position for College Board. Thus began my 7-year reign as a Director of Implementation for SpringBoard and Pre-AP. This role also affords me the opportunity to work with school districts from across the country as they work to successfully implement College Board programs. My role here has truly been two-fold – one in the instructional realm – helping leaders support classroom teachers with effective instructional practices – and the other – supporting leaders in developing expectations and structures that best reinforce new programs.