Mariko White

Mariko has been teaching for 17 years and is currently an instructional coach in Oakland Unified School District. She started her teaching career in New York City, where she also earned a Master’s degree of Education Curriculum and Teaching from Fordham University. She moved to Oakland where she taught middle school Humanities and Designated ELD. In Oakland, she took on various leadership roles, including becoming a certified Constructing Meaning district trainer and serving on the district EL Collaborative, investigating pertinent issues affecting newcomers and long-term English learners. For 2 years, Mariko moved to Los Angeles to work as an English Learner Instructional Resource Teacher in Lawndale. In this role, she supported the district in implementing Title III compliance policy as well as lead district-wide professional development for ELD teachers. In this role she also collaborated with California Education Partners, Stanford’s Understanding Language, and 8 other districts across California to investigate the impacts of academic discourse on LTEL achievement and to develop systems and strategies to sustainably address key challenges in ensuring equitable access for all students to high standards of achievement. After this brief stint in Southern California, she returned to Oakland, which she considers home. As a site-based instructional coach, she collaboratively plans and facilitates school-wide instructional professional development aligned with school vision and theory of action. She provides instructional coaching to teachers to support their professional growth toward personal and school-wide goals. Last year, she obtained her National Board Certification in English Language Arts, Early Adolescence.