Lauren DiSabato is an educator who graduated in 2021 with a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. As the district multilingual learner coordinator for College Achieve Public Schools, a public charter school in New Jersey, Lauren draws on her Penn State education as she leads inclusive, equity-driven initiatives that support multilingual learners. She’s also pursuing a doctorate in education, building on the confidence and expertise she gained through her master’s experience.
Read more about Lauren’s experience as an online learner and what she has done since she graduated.
Why did you choose to complete your master’s degree online through Penn State World Campus?
I decided to pursue a master’s degree to deepen my expertise in curriculum design and instructional strategies that support language acquisition and culturally responsive teaching. I wanted to learn to mentor educators and lead programs that empower multilingual learners through innovative, inclusive education.
In particular, I selected the master’s in curriculum and instruction due to the university’s highly qualified faculty and the flexibility offered by the program’s online format.
Tell us about what you do in your role.
I oversee language instruction programming, support teachers through the implementation of professional development, and work closely with school leaders to ensure that multilingual students receive the academic and social-emotional support they need to thrive. This work continues to fuel my passion for creating inclusive, empowering learning environments for all students!
How did your Penn State education provide the foundation for the work you’re doing today?
My education at Penn State equipped me with a critical understanding of curriculum design, culturally responsive pedagogy, and language acquisition theories. In the course CS 551, I learned to critically analyze curricular programs through the lenses of purpose, content structure, and instructional experience. The course sharpened my ability to evaluate and adapt curriculum to meet the needs of multilingual learners, skills that I now apply both in my role as district ML Coordinator as well as through my doctoral research in literacy, culture, and language education.
How have you used your Penn State education to make an impact as an educator?
Thanks to World Campus and amazing professors like Dr. Mari Haneda, I gained a deep understanding of how to design and implement effective, standards-aligned, and culturally relevant curricula, including a literacy project that increased access to books both in English and in students’ home languages and fostered a love of reading.
Drawing on the pedagogical foundations I learned in my master’s degree, I’ve redesigned curriculum to celebrate linguistic diversity and ensure multilingual learners are included and empowered through differentiated instruction and multilingual classroom libraries. This work reflects my commitment to educational equity and creating spaces where all students can thrive.
I am also pursuing a doctorate in education in literacy, culture, and language education. My studies focus on culturally responsive pedagogy and educational equity for multilingual learners.
This Q&A spotlight is part of “40K alumni: 40 stories celebrating 40,000 graduates,” a series marking the milestone of more than 40,000 Penn Staters earning their degrees online through Penn State World Campus.