MEET THE FOUNDER

Teaching ESL is what I have been doing for the past 12 years of my professional life. It started in 2009 by teaching English to children, teenagers, and adults after going back to Brazil from a semester studying in Spain. Back then, I did not know this was my true real gift and passion in life. All I knew was that by having the opportunity of studying abroad, I understood how language barriers could transform lives once they are broken.  
I moved to Spain in 2008, right in the middle of The Great Recession. I remember being there and talking to so many people from all over Europe, people with no jobs and desperate to find any opportunity. Many of those people told me: “You are lucky, you know Spanish and English. You can find a job easily, or even go live anywhere. You will not struggle with the language barrier”. So, I understood. Speaking English is a big deal. It can change people’s lives; it can give life to immigrants, or it can simply be a “nice to have” on someone’s résumé. Either way, I comprehended that it mattered.  Nevertheless, I was too young to know that it should not be a privilege. It should be a right. 
Teaching children, teenagers, and adults in my birth country had the purpose of breaking the language barrier for any exceptional purpose people had in their own lives. I saw myself only as a facilitator in this objective. However, teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in the United States is much greater than I initially imagined. It is not only about breaking the language barrier anymore. It is about teaching students how to communicate in English, advocating for themselves, integrate and acculturate American culture, and establishing rapport with foreign communities. I went from a facilitator to a person playing a significant role in hundreds of lives. It is unique from the inclusive perspective when it brings new opportunities, especially for minorities and underprivileged people. ELs (English Learners) are among the fastest-growing population in U.S. schools. Despite the fact that ELs bring many assets to school, including their home language, they consistently perform at lower levels than their non-EL peers and have lower high school graduation rates (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014).  
After seven years teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in Brazil, being proficient in the language, and having the opportunity to teach scholars with distinct social background, I was not expecting to find an expressive number of scholars in the United States that do not know the English language. In 2016 I got my first job in the United States, in Orlando, Florida. I started teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in a Language School for adults.
The United States is well-known for being a “melting pot” because of its heterogeneous society, becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture, or vice versa, through the influx of foreign elements with different cultural backgrounds. Historically, the term has often been used to describe immigrants' cultural integration into the United States. This has never been truer when describing Orlando, Florida.  
Nevertheless, it was only when I moved to the State of Tennessee that it proved me wrong. The “melting pot” culture in the State of Tennessee is close to non-existent. Nashville, TN, is home to many refugees and asylees. However, this population lives in the US and shares their lives within their own community. Many live in the same apartment complex, work in each other's businesses, and have no chance to integrate into American society. This population is vulnerable and in need of equity. Unfortunately, if this does not change, this will be a life cycle for future generations.
Everything starts by promoting equity and adequacy in student access to educational resources and opportunities.