How does “toxic stress” for students in the intersection of immigration and education manifest itself, and what are the long term effects it can have if not addressed? What are the most pressing concerns that educators have about their English learners as a result of the pandemic and what do they need to support them? How can educators, policy makers and community organizations contribute to an environment that allows English learners and their families to thrive in an academic setting? We dig into these questions and more with our guest, Rosario Quiroz Villarreal.

Rosario Quiroz Villarreal is a policy entrepreneur at Next100 focused on increasing educational equity for immigrant students and students of color, including by removing the systemic barriers their families face when seeking opportunity. She has written numerous articles centering and celebrating the lived experience of immigrants and advocating for policy solutions to challenges. Among other projects, she has worked with a diverse coalition of immigration and education advocates to draft a toolkit for K–12 educators that prepared them to support their students, families, and colleagues when the DACA decision came down from the Supreme Court.

Rosario has worked on social justice issues and with youth throughout her career. She spent five years as a bilingual educator, teaching in public and charter school settings in Texas and New York. She was recognized as a Champion of Change by the Obama administration for her work with immigrant English learner students. Rosario also worked with the Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County, North Carolina, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health in NYC, and Momentum Alliance in Portland, Oregon.

As you’ll hear in our conversation, her passion for this work stems from lived experiences, thorough research and valuable time in educational settings.

During the episode, we mention that Highest Aspirations will be featuring teacher shout-outs submitted by listeners from now through the end of the school year. If you would like to participate, you can record a short audio message on your phone or computer and email it to [email protected]. For more information on recording and submitting your message, check out our blog post.

You can find additional resources and episode takeaways on our ELL Community page at ellevationeducation.com/ellcommunity. If you haven’t done so already, we invite you to join our ELL Community while you’re there so you get weekly resources, strategies and tips from that you can use right away.

Finally, the 2021 Ellevation Scholarship is still accepting applications - if you are interested in the application, visit this page to learn more and apply.