Instructional, Management and Training Team

Alma Valdes
She has 35 years of experience as a Teacher, Trainer, Reading Specialist, Content Developer, and Education Consultant. Her education includes M.A. Education, 2002, Universidad, San Luis Potosi, Mexico; B.A. Sociology 2000, Universidad, San Luis Potosi, Mexico and a B.A. majored in Education Accredited by the University of Illinois in Chicago 1996. She was the developer of "Inicio a la Lectura" software for CS&C and Lexia Inc. She served as the lead education consultant at the Carpentersville School District in Illinois and the Area 8 Dallas School District delivering onsite professional development in enhancing the existing bilingual program. Further, Mrs. Valdes worked closely with both school districts in the review and re-tooling of existing instructional materials as well as developed a parent component to ensure parents were engaged in the learning process. Mrs. Valdes' expertise in reading tutoring programs has been an inspiration for all of our team members since the results have been very satisfactory. Read more about Alma Valdes here.

Minerva Perez
Obtained her Bachelors degree in education in 1990 from Judson College, she then completed her Masters of education in 1994 from National Louis University. Her professional background includes 17 years of experience in the bilingual education field as a teacher and coordinator. While employed with the Community Unit School District 300, she communicated and educated parents of ELL students by increasing awareness and promoting parental participation. She has trained, mentored and provided professional development for Bilingual and ESL Teachers and teacher assistants. Promoted and executed support systems for schools with Bilingual and ESL programs to ensure appropriate delivery of services.

Paola Ferguson
Paola Ferguson currently serves as Vice President of Spanish Learning Center. Over the past 9 years Paola has developed business administration and language expertise which combine to form a unique skill that is specifically suited to the marriage of business and education. Mrs. Ferguson's diverse skill set includes bilingual consulting, logistics and production, as well as translation and interpretation. She has played an important role with the Spanish speaking community in the Chicago suburbs, by helping them understand legal procedures as a DuPage county legal interpreter. Paola received her Bachelor's degree in Communications from DePaul University.

Alfonso Valdes
Received his master's degree with a major in education at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2001. He received his Bachelor's at the Northeastern Illinois University in 1995 and obtained an Elementary Educator degree at Escuela Normal Ignacio Altamirano in Mexico City, Mexico in 1968. He has been working as a bilingual teacher specializing on ESL in the Chicago Public Schools for the last 21 years. Also is one of the bilingual resources available on staff to interact with Spanish-speaking parents and students.

Margarita Soto
Ms. Soto received her Bachelor~Rs degree in Speech Communication Disorders. She has had an interest for education since she began working for the Chicago public schools in 1999. Her experience includes speech therapy, reading and math tutoring for 1st and 2nd grades. Ms. Soto is also bilingual and has proficient knowledge of sign language.