We are happy to announce that the SupportEd team has grown with the addition of our newest member, Joanna Duggan. 

Joanna began working with SupportEd in January 2019 in order to further her passion for bridging research and practice in the service of educational equity for English learners (ELs). She is currently contributing to several EL-related technical assistance projects including with the U.S. Department of Education’s National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and creating Reading (PA) School District’s first EL Master Plan.

Joanna’s combination of practical experience in EL classrooms coupled with research and policy expertise provide a wonderful complement to the SupportEd team. Joanna has taught ELs from all over the world in the United States as well as in Spain and the Czech Republic, including in bilingual Spanish/English classrooms in Spain. In her most recent role at the Center for Applied Linguistics she conducted research and oversaw project activities, budgets, and staffing in the PreK-12 English Learner Education program area. The portfolio of projects she managed included a rewrite of the Los Angeles Unified School District English Learner/Standard English Learner Master Plan (in partnership with SupportEd), Promoting Educator Networks: Standards-Based Instruction for English Learners, an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and a subcontract to Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands. She also worked on two projects funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Education Connections and Enhanced Education Connections, which supported the growth of Teacher Leaders and their implementation of standards-aligned, sheltered instruction for ELs.

Additionally, Joanna was part of a research team that conducted a qualitative study for the International Baccalaureate Organization, authoring two case studies that investigated the development and implementation of language policy in IB World Schools.

She has presented at national and international conferences on the role of language in K-12 education and language policy in the U.S. and internationally. Joanna holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Her publications include a co-authored book chapter and articles in peer-reviewed journals. Joanna had experiences as a language learner in Spain and the Czech Republic and currently lives in Arlington, VA. She enjoys playing soccer, running, cooking, baking (and eating!), and attempting to learn the ukulele.

Please join us in welcoming Joanna to our team! You can follow her on Twitter (@JoannaSupport) for SupportEd updates, conversation around pressing EL topics, and more.