Rachel Carrillo Syrja is a Professional Development Associate with The Leadership and Learning Center. During her 19 years in education, she has been a classroom teacher, mathematics coach and resource teacher, and professional developer. Her varied educational experiences as well as leadership roles have enhanced her knowledge and skills in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Among her many leadership roles, she has designed and implemented district-wide staff development in the areas of English Language Development, working with struggling learners, standards-based education, and Assessment For Learning. Additionally, Rachel has conducted workshops for teachers and administrators on Data Teams, Professional Learning Communities, and Using Assessment Data to Drive Instruction. She has also presented at national conferences such as ASCD. In addition, she is the author of How to Reach and Teach English Language Learners, and the soon to be published, Common Formative Assessments for English Language Learners.
Throughout the years, Rachel has led and facilitated district task forces for curriculum adoptions, standards-based report cards, and the creation of benchmark assessments and pacing guides. Most recently, Rachel’s focus has been on ensuring a high degree of implementation of professional development initiatives.
Raised in a bilingual household, Rachel has an acute sense of the needs of the English Language Learner. Working in a district that had a large population of English Learners and Title I students, Rachel placed a strong emphasis on serving these groups in all of her endeavors. While in her own district, she worked on implementing a stronger EL program district-wide by synthesizing state data and district data to build a comprehensive ESL program that addressed the needs of ELL’s at their individual language development levels. She facilitated a district-level PLC to formulate and implement solutions for this complex and timely issue.
Rachel earned her B.S. from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, and her Master’s degree in Educational Administration and Administrative Services Credential from Point Loma University in San Diego, California.
Rachel resides in Pomona, California. She enjoys reading, traveling, writing, and spending time with her family.
Video Introduction
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What Clients Say
“We have been extremely pleased with David and Rachel. They both have connected with our participants on a personal and professional basis. The ongoing contact though webinars and email will only increase the knowledge of our participants.”
—Allen Haymon, Department of Defense Education Activity
“I really enjoyed the presentation and I learned a lot! It was great!”
—Karla Capson, Teacher, Jefferson School District #251, ID
“I appreciate Rachel’s positive attitude!”
—Susan Davis, Teacher, Midway Elementary School, ID
