Alexandra and her family have been a part of Spanish House and Spanish World School since 2011, when her daughter enrolled in the preschool program. Her belief in the school’s mission and vision led her to assume the position of Elementary Director in July of 2016. An advocate for dual language education, she is proud to lead a dynamic, dedicated faculty committed to excellence in authentic learning and language immersion.

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Orlando, Alexandra earned a B.A. in English from Tulane University and a Master’s in Bilingual Education from SMU. Alexandra recently earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership at SMU, where her research interests included organizational leadership, teacher development, curriculum design and implementation, and authentic literacy assessment; her dissertation focused on standardized testing in language arts for bilingual, biliterate students like our own Jaguares.

Alexandra began her career in education as a Teach For America corps member in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she taught for three years. She later worked as a university teaching assistant, high school instructor, and college admissions administrator before returning to the primary classroom in DallasISD. She taught at Mt. Auburn Elementary in East Dallas for ten years, serving as team leader, faculty mentor, STEAM trainer, Project Lead the Way lead teacher, bilingual advisor, and parent liaison. Outside the classroom, she has been a Teaching Trust Education Policy Fellow and a Dallas Morning News Editorial Teacher Voice. She lived in Oakland and New York City before moving to Lakewood. Her daughter Ruby was also in the very first graduating 5th grade class of 2020 and attends a DISD dual-language magnet middle school. Her son Eli also graduated from SWS Elementary in 2022.

Andrea was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, where she completed her degree in Early Education. She also received her certification for teaching English to both elementary and high school students. Prior to moving to the United States, Andrea worked as a preschool and elementary teacher in Guatemala. In 2011 she joined the Spanish House family working as a lead preschool teacher. In 2013, she became Spanish House’s first kindergarten teacher. She has received intensive training in Project-Based Learning and helped the Spanish House elementary program grow since its inception. She now serves as the Spanish World School Elementary Academic Director. She oversees the implementation of the PBL-based curriculum and works with the elementary staff as a coach and facilitator.

Cesira was born in Lima, Peru, where she attended San Silvestre School, a British/International bilingual private school. She completed her degree and internship as a Clinical Psychologist from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Cesira is highly trained and specializes in Psychometric Testing, Behavioral Observation, Attachment and Development-Based Research. She has experience working for the preschool system in Peru and in private practice as a Psychologist for young children through adolescence.

In 2010, Cesira married, moved to Dallas and continued her private practice online helping school children in many areas including emotional distress, interpersonal relationships, and time management for academic success. As a parent, Cesira truly understands the importance of a complete Spanish immersion program and as such joined Spanish House as the School Counselor in 2017. Cesira’s primary goal is to strengthen the school’s Core Values through strong social emotional learning at all 3 campuses.