Jody Nolf, Champion of Equity

From the Nov./Dec. 2020 issue of Equity & Access Pre K-12

Jody Nolf, M. Ed., serves as ESOL Coordinator for the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida, which has a large population of students from Central America. Many of these learners speak Spanish, but some speak indigenous Mayan languages, posing unique challenges for their teachers and communities.

“We need to advocate for and support not only our wonderful students, but also each other.” — Jody Nolf

In 2017, Jody helped advocate for a field trip to Palm Beach State College, completely in Spanish, to give eighth-grade ELLs a chance to see what’s possible and experience a fascinating learning activity that involves studying DNA. This is now an annual event that encourages these students to apply for choice programs for high school.

Jody presents regularly at conferences, including VirtuEL 2020, maintains a website packed with valuable resources and guidance for ELL teachers, and shares her knowledge about Anchor Learning with other educators across the country.

Follow her on Twitter: @jodynolf

American Consortium for Equity in Education

The American Consortium for Equity in Education, publisher of the "Equity & Access" journal, celebrates and connects the educators, associations, community partners and industry leaders who are working to solve problems and create a more equitable environment for historically underserved pre K-12 students throughout the United States.