Richelle Jurasek-Kumar

Richelle Jurasek-Kumar is a current PhD student in the Department of Education Studies. She received her Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Teachers College, Columbia University and spent three years teaching Multilingual Learners (MLLs) at a secondary school in the Bronx, New York. Richelle spent the next five years working as an ELD Instructional Coach at a Title I middle school near downtown San Diego, focusing specifically on supporting teachers in designing asset-based lessons to support MLLs’ literacy and language development. Richelle’s research interests lie in state and federal language policies and how they impact MLLs’ academic outcomes and experiences in K-12 schools. Her dissertation research is focused on MLL students classified as Long-Term English Learners and how, if at all, integrating art with language development enhances students’ outcomes in ELD courses. She can be reached at rjurasek@ucsd.edu.