Rainbow Mountain Spanish Program Staff
Lisa Saraceno, Spanish Teacher
Kindergarten – 8th Grade
When Lisa joined the Rainbow Mountain faculty, she was excited about the opportunity to teach Spanish with holistic methods. According to Lisa, her previous three-and-one-half years as a public high school teacher did not allow for such “liberation.”
The strong community aspect of Rainbow Mountain greatly appeals to Lisa, who believes that all children need a safe and nurturing environment in which to learn. Equally important to her is honoring all learners so they are free to explore and to be encouraged by and held accountable to their peers.
Lisa enjoys teaching Kindergarten through eighth grade students at Rainbow because of their curiosity, sense of wonder, “dive right in” approach, and their lack of fear regarding speaking another language. During college, she first envisioned herself as a teacher while participating in a service learning project in an Atlanta inner-city elementary school. Through that experience she realized that she could be a positive force in the life of a young person.
Lisa earned her undergraduate degree in Italian Studies and Environmental Science from Emory University and her Masters in Teaching, with a concentration in Spanish, from Eastern Tennessee State University. Having also taught ESOL to adults for almost five years, Lisa looks forward to honoring and exploring the cultural traditions of worldwide Spanish speakers with Rainbow Mountain students.
To encourage their holistic growth, Lisa allows her students to use a wide variety of association tools – many of which are student-created. In addition to giving them ownership of their learning process, she believes children learn Spanish more easily because they’re enjoying creating rhymes, playing games, writing songs, or developing impromptu plays. Lisa enjoys “stretching” her Spanish teaching as far as possible into many different content areas.
When she’s not sharing her love of the Spanish language, Lisa can be found knitting, gardening, swimming, riding her bike, camping, rafting, snowboarding or visiting the Nolichucky River with her husband and two children.
