Our Staff

Ximena Rayo was born and raised in Santiago, Chile where she attended an English Immersion school as a student. Her school was one of the first IB schools in Chile and she was an IB, Diploma Certificate student (language A - Spanish, language B-English). Her BA was in Physical Education from the Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación. She came to the United States to teach PE in Spanish.  

While in Minnesota Ximena taught for over nine years in a Spanish Immersion setting in Saint Paul Public Schools. She gained her Master Degree, Computer Applications’ License and Administrative License at Hamline University. She has been teaching in the graduate school of Education since 1989.  

Ximena brings her Spanish Immersion, IB and Technology skills and experience to ISLA. She is very excited of the opportunity to work in a school where there is so much passion about education, and where there is so much talent and dedication.

Karen Speich was raised in the Twin Cities and after graduating from Augsburg College with a B.A. in Communications she travelled extensively through Latin America. Her love of Latin cultures brought her to Spain where she taught English in an immersion setting. Her passion for the language drove her to continue her studies at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid  and after 4 years of living in Spain she received a Master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College in Vermont/Madrid. Upon her return home she worked for a company funded by the Mexican government to promote Mexican tourism in the United States. She has worked for many years as a Spanish Medical Interpreter and she also has taught all levels of Spanish using accelerated immersion methodology. She taught 7^th and 8^th grade Social Studies through the immersion program in St. Louis Park where her two children currently attend.  

Dayra de la Cruz is from Calí, Colombia with teaching experience from the preschool level through middle school.    She has worked a number of years teaching English to elementary children, and is excited to switch gears to Spanish immersion.  Dayra’s training involves extensive work in the areas of foreign language education and bilingual education.  She has a natural love of children and her references tell us “Your parents will love her.”   Recently she has taught private classes to primary age children and worked as a nanny in Minneapolis.

Cori was raised in the Twin Cities, during which time she began studying Spanish in school. She was first able to put her Spanish to use when traveling to Mexico with her family, where she learned to appreciate other languages and cultures. After two more visits to Mexico over the following years, she decided to explore the world further. While completing her B.A. in Social Studies and Education at Hamline University, she took coursework in Nicaragua and England, and spent a semester in Pamplona, Spain, where she became immersed in the language and culture of northern Spain.

Additionally, Cori has been fortunate enough to travel to Italy, Germany, Sweden, Greece, Portugal, Morocco, and China, allowing her to glimpse into lifestyles and languages that greatly differ from her own, which have provided her a more global perspective. She greatly wishes to bring this broader perspective into her classroom, teaching students about the great diversity of people, languages, and landscapes within our world.

Cori has had the opportunity to work with children of various ages, through her education coursework, after-school programs, as a preschool teacher and most recently, working in a wilderness camp for teens in Ely, Minnesota. Cori also served as a substitute teacher this past spring in the St. Paul Public Schools – an experience which provided invaluable lessons in becoming a teacher. This will be Cori’s first year teaching in her own classroom, where she hopes to instill a sense of excitement, exploration, and collaboration in her classroom and students. She is excited to begin the year and explore with her students what ISLA has to offer!

Briana began her adventures in Spanish while studying abroad in Cuanervaca, Mexico. Her love of the language and culture lead her to Merida, Venezuela where she conducted an ethnographic research project for her thesis at the University of Minnesota. Continuing with her education, she completed her Master’s of Education specializing in learning instruction.  Briana has taught Spanish and organized after school Spanish Clubs for elementary schools.

In addition to Spanish, she is also fluent in German. She learned German through total immersion while living and teaching overseas. She taught English in a multiage classroom setting to 4th, 5th and 6th graders for three years.

In her classroom, she incorporates learning centers, individualized lesson plans and whole group instruction to meet the level of every student’s needs. Briana also has experience with developing new schools. She started a language program for children called “Discovery Learning” and was in charge of writing the curriculum and creating portfolios for the students.

Oscar Franco is originally from Bogotá, Colombia, and has been teaching at Winstead Avenue Elementary School in North Carolina for the past three years.  Prior to that, he taught at the Centro Colombo Americano in Bogotá.  He spent the 2001-02 school year here in Minnesota as a teacher assistant in the Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion School.  Oscar has extensive training in second language acquisition and will be an incredible resource to the ISLA staff.  Sr. Franco loves Minnesota and is very happy to be returning this summer with his wife.

Jorge is from Medellín, Colombia. He started studying guitar at age 11. He studied guitar performance at the Universidad de Antioquia in Medellín before changing his major to Music Education. He has attended numerous master classes at different universities in Medellín, and has also participated in a range of Colombian music festivals as a performer.

Throughout his university career, he has also worked as a music teacher in a number of educational settings. Jorge has taught general, instrumental, and vocal music to students in private music schools, public elementary and high schools, and in university continuing education courses. In April 2007 he completed the last of his course requirements for a music education degree. He recently moved to Minnesota with his wife, a Wisconsin native whom he met while she was working in Colombia as a teacher.

Juan Carlos was born in Bogota, Colombia.  Growing up, Juan Carlos' interest included animals and sports - soccer in particular.  He later spent 5 years playing on the semi-professional soccer team "Fair Play" in Bogota.  Juan Carlos later turned his love of sports into a career.  He studied at the Universidad Libre de Colombia, where he received his licensure in physical education and sports.  In the years following his graduation, Juan Carlos worked in private schools and athletic organizations.  In the winter of 2007 Juan Carlos began the process of becoming an Amity Aide.  Amity is a program which brings adults from around the world to the United States to work in schools to provide a native speaker language experience to the students.  Juan Carlos is very excited to be in Minnesota and to be working at ISLA.  He is enjoying being an ambassador of the Colombian culture and the Spanish language.

Carmen grew up here in Minnesota in a bilingual home, learning in both English and Spanish.  Travels to Guatemala at a young age fostered a love of diverse cultures and languages. Through out Carmen’s childhood she traveled to Guatemala over five times.  Carmen was also a foreign exchange student for a year to Chile, during high school. Carmen has traveled to over 10 countries including; Guatemala, Chile, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Australia, Fiji, Spain, Portugal, Ethiopia, Egypt, & Norway. After studying abroad in Chile and spending time in Guatemala, Carmen received her bachelor’s degree in Spanish at the University of Minnesota.         
Carmen has spent over 10 years caring for children in a child care setting, along with experience in charter & Montessori schools. Carmen is dedicated to helping children grow and learn in every way.

Bio coming soon.

Emily spent her childhood in a small farming community north of St. Cloud, along with her seven brothers and sisters. As the oldest daughter in her family, Emily spent much of her youth caring for and nurturing her younger siblings. After graduating from high school, Emily attended St. Cloud Technical College studying in the General Secretarial Program. Emily has spent over 15 years working as a secretary and reporting specialist in a variety of settings.

Emily has a diverse background with children, she has not only raised three of her own children, cared for children at her church nursery, but also ran an in-home child care program for 8 years. While running her in-home child care program Emily earned esteemed licensure of the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).

Emily was bitten by the travel bug as an adult, and has loved traveling and learning about the diverse cultures around the world ever since. Emily’s first trip was a trip to Mexico, followed by a cruise she won to Spain, Italy and France. Emily later traveled to Canada, Belize, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.