Kara Blank-Gonzalez

• Design curricula, create syllabi, and instruct ESL courses across beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels in reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, listening, and speaking.
• Conduct language assessments to place students into ESL classes and administer pre-tests and post-tests to assess students' learning progress.
• Employ planned yet fluid course schedules to teach mixed level classes with diverse learners
• Incorporate technology into classes to engage students and enhance their learning; programs and apps include Blackboard, Google Drive, WhatsApp, and Quizlet.

VIVA VERDE, Claremont Bilingual Immersion Elementary School, Arlington, VA, 2011 – 2017.

• Provide interactive, cooking classes for students through Viva Verde, a parent and teacher-led green-living group that involves students in environmental awareness and activism.
• Prepare healthy foods for school events like Movie Night, holiday celebrations and school potlucks, and educate children and their families about nutrition at these events.
• Serve as Parent Representation on school's Nutritional Council and appear on school TV to give short infomercials about different vegetables.

ARLINGTON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION DAY, Aurora Hills Community Center, Arlington, VA, 2011.

• Designed a plant-based nutrition exhibit table and spoke to families about how a healthy vegan diet can counteract the environmental degradation caused by factory-farming.
• Coordinated interactive cooking demonstrations of veggie sushi, green smoothies and “Monster Mash”, an avocado-black bean-salsa spread, for children and their families.

• Instructed intensive TESOL Methodology courses to English language teachers from Peru (2012) and Panama (2015) covering topics such as learner-centered instruction, experiential learning, cooperative learning, and authentic assessment

• Supervised faculty in customized English for Specific Purposes programs and tutors in EHLS Program.
• Reviewed applications and conducted interviews for U.S. Department of State-sponsored English Language Fellow Program.
• Planned and administered week-long professional development training for international English as a Foreign Language teachers.

• Delivered Low Intermediate Integrated Skills course to EFL students from Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Japan, Italy, and Hungary, focusing on academic reading, writing skills, and vocabulary development.
• Instructed intensive Advanced English for Public Policy Professionals course for Japanese civil servants, emphasizing professional presentation and negotiation skills.
• Facilitated site visits and interviews with DC-area organizations to enhance practical understanding of public policy topics.
• Designed curriculum materials that addressed diverse cultural backgrounds and learning styles of students.

APRENDAMOS JUNTOS (LEARNING TOGETHER), Burke, VA, 2007–2008.

· Conceptualized a Spanish-language preschool program that utilizes a funds of knowledge approach to support Spanish language development and cultural learning in Latin American families with young children.

· Developed curriculum with the participating families by adapting funds of knowledge pedagogy in which families design and teach lessons about the aspects of their culture that they want to pass on to their children.

· Expanded the program to classes for English-speaking families to learn Spanish, connect with Latin American families in their neighborhoods, and become advocates for bilingual education in their communities.