Welcome Amanda Minnillo, World Language Specialist
Amanda Minnillo is our newest Avant MORE Learning team member at Avant Assessment! She has a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and is certified in English as a Second Language (ESL). As a former high school French teacher, Amanda brings a passion for language and its impact on identity and the bilingual mind. She believes that empowered teachers empower students and that every child deserves a school where they feel welcome and appreciated. In her view, the world language classroom is a place that instills a sense of belonging, ignites a global curiosity and, in turn, builds empathy, friendship and community across and within cultures.
In her previous roles, Amanda demonstrated a dedication to supporting world language educators and multilingual students. As the World Language and Dual Language Immersion Teacher Support Specialist for Lexington County School District One in South Carolina, she supported teachers through curriculum development, performance-based rating, individual coaching cycles, and whole-group professional learning. At the University of South Carolina, she is a member of the Early Childhood Dual Language Learner Project that provides resources and training that support the development of the multilingual child for childcare providers, educators, parents and students. At the state level, she provided similar support as a team lead for curriculum writing and by developing and co-facilitating a professional learning series for South Carolina world language teachers. In her own doctoral research at the University of South Carolina, she is working on developing K-12 schools’ leadership capacity to support migrant world language educators.
Amanda is a lifelong learner and a self-proclaimed “language fun-doer”. She presents at local, state, regional and national conferences with a heart for topics of inclusion and powering up proficiency through fun, communicative activities presented in a learn-by-doing fashion. She brings that same zest and enthusiasm to the Avant MORE Learning team and professional development workshops. Amanda is often requested, by name, to lead workshops!
We are so excited to add Amanda to our great MORE Learning team here at Avant Assessment. With her contributions, we continue to develop language testing tools, provide in-depth data analysis, and accelerate educators’ knowledge of data-informed practices to aid their language learners in achieving their goals. If you have any questions about how Amanda and Avant MORE Learning can help you through professional learning, reach out to us!
