Dr. Regina Rodriguez is a graduate of Harvard University Graduate School of Education (administration, planning and social policy research). She also holds a Montessori administrator’s certification from the Barrie Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies in Rockville, MD.
She most recently participated as a national charter collaborative national manati fellow for single-site charter leaders of color. She proudly identifies as Afro-Latina, born in Columbia and raised as a bilingual ‘Native New Yorker’ in Brooklyn, NY. She has also been a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta national sorority for 30+ years. She is also a proud mom, nana-abuela, great aunt, and the human mom of fur baby Miles Davis Rodriguez.
Before being recruited to lead Shining Stars Montessori Academy, Regina Rodriguez had acquired more than 30 years of career experience in a diverse array of teaching and learning environments. She has served as a Peace Corps volunteer and country director; as a policy fellow at the National Education Policy Fellowship Program at George Washington University; as a principal; higher education administrator, and chief academic officer at two multi-campus public charter schools and as cofounder of a PK-K immersion school in Colombia. She later cofounded a public charter high school in Washington, DC.
There are so many leaders of color who are engaged in deep heart work and commitment to Montessori philosophy, many of whom we don’t often see. It has been a pleasure to be in conversation with Dr. Rodriguez about how her passion for education and approach to leadership is informed by her identity. I invite you to take a moment to hear from a BIPOC Montessori leader who leads her small learning community with authenticity, critical consciousness and grace.
Please share with us the significance of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Dr. Regina Rodriguez:
The opinions expressed in Montessori Life are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of AMS.