Ms. Elysia Garcia works for the North Shore School District 112 in Highland Park and Highwood, Illinois. She teaches a pre-kindergarten class of students in the three-to-five age group who are a mix of native English speakers, native Spanish speakers, and emerging bilinguals. The class is taught in an inclusive environment in both languages, addressing the needs of students with individual education plans. Ms. Garcia has worked in public and private educational settings for over 15 years. She has a BA from Concordia University and an MEd and an EdS from National Louis University. She is certified to impart early childhood and elementary education, as well as gifted education, along with teaching English as a second language, bilingual Spanish, and Spanish world language. In the school community, she enjoys working with older elementary students as a robotics coach. In her free time, she can be found running and always looking to explore new adventures such as an obstacle course race this past year. She lives in Illinois with her husband, two boys, and two cats.
For her Fulbright program, Ms. Garcia who is specializing in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), is working with the staff at the Avinashilingam Institute to help develop a unified curriculum based on developmentally appropriate practice (DP) for children in the age bracket of three to six. This unified DAP-based curriculum will serve ECCE professionals across India and specifically the teacher trainees enrolled at the institute. The Avinashilingam Institute will share the DAP-based curriculum with the Government of India for consideration as a major policy proposal to realize the proposed NEP (National Education Policy) goals. In this regard, Ms. Garcia is conducting meetings at the institute, working with colleagues to draft curricula frameworks, participating in panel discussions, and carrying out training workshops. She is also promoting developmentally appropriate teaching practices, and learning about Indian teaching methods and culture.