Kindergarten English Teacher

Pilar was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and raised in Oakland, CA. In 1996 she graduated from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and then returned home to the Bay Area to pursue a career in the classroom. From 1998 to 2004 she taught in the Hayward Unified School District, first as a first grade teacher, and then in kindergarten. During her time there, she became part of a cohort of teachers interested in literacy learning as well as project based, arts-rich curricula and how such curricula helps to develop oral language and cognitive growth. Her group received a two-year grant from the Spencer Foundation to conduct classroom research in these areas. Pilar received her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from Cal State Hayward, followed by her National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification as an Early Childhood Specialist. After leaving the classroom to have her son, she taught in the UC Berkeley Developmental Teacher Education program, and then wrote literacy curriculum for the Developmental Studies Center in Oakland. It was her interest in teacher research, inquiry-based curriculum, and innovative approaches to language and literacy learning that first attracted Pilar to EBI. This is her second year teaching English literacy in the K-2 program. She is honored to be part of such a vibrant, supportive, and creative school community.