¡Hola! Call me Doña Melissa. 

I love teaching because I know every child has the capacity to learn how to learn and to meaningfully connect with others in their community. Prior to joining Plano ISD, I taught Spanish for two years in Harmony Public Schools’ Dallas and Carrollton Middle Schools. Leading up to becoming a Spanish teacher, I founded the iCode school in Coppell, TX and taught some Spanish classes at other schools in Dallas as a substitute and summer school teacher.

Beginning my career in education, I joined Teach for America in 2008, completing two years of ESL teaching and Americorps national service in Southwest Washington, DC at Amidon - Bowen Elementary School. I spent a year working on the District of Columbia's Title III policy and No Child Left Behind before trying my hand at entrepreneurship for many years as a New York City blogger and owner of a private tutoring practice for businesses and individuals. As a self-employed educator, my contracts included Samsung Electronics, Luminator Technology Group, and the Jiv Daya Foundation. In Dallas, I have been honored to be chosen as a Community Champion by the Commit! Partnership and a Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fellow with Teach for America DFW. I was awarded a scholarship to learn coding from The Codex at Tech Wildcatters in Dallas TX. 

I graduated from Rowlett High School, where I ran track and cross country. I hold an MA in Teaching: English to Speakers of Other Languages from American University in Washington, DC. In 2008, I earned a double degree and honors certificate in International Studies and Spanish from the University of Missouri – Columbia. One year of my undergraduate studies were completed abroad in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) and the Instituto Filosófico Pedro Francisco Bonó (IFPFB) - focusing on Humanities and Philosophy - in conjuction with CIEE Liberal Arts Program. That year study was made possible by a generous family foundation scholarship and changed my life forever!

I also enjoy practicing yoga, visiting local parks with my two toddler daughters, Yara and Sophie, practicing French with my husband, and perusing Dallas for the best craft coffee and modern art.