Imasul Villarreal
Senior Manager, Multilingual Learner Academics
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Imasul is an experienced educator, with a focus on literacy instruction and best practices for multilingual learners. She has worked as a bilingual educator, coordinator, and campus and district leader.
As a native Spanish speaker, Imasul has lived and breathed being and supporting multilingual learners. She was raised by a single, immigrant mom who, because of her own limited schooling and not speaking English, fully understood the importance of a formal education. As such, she created the conditions that allowed Imasul and her sister to prioritize school, even if it meant that she was working up to three jobs to make ends meet. This background, along with strong teachers and mentors, has driven Imasul’s career in education to ensure that students who come from a background similar to hers are afforded the same opportunities she’s had as a result of her educational experiences.
She has worked as an elementary bilingual educator, a middle and high school literacy specialist, interventionist, and multilingual coordinator, assistant principal, and the head of the Multilingual Learner Program for 34 schools in Houston. At TNTP, she has continued her life’s work of serving her community and building educators’ and leaders’ capacity to do their best work for their students, including projects at Spokane Public Schools, Dallas ISD, and the Ednovate Charter Network, Lawndale Elementary School District, and Guadalupe Union School District in California.
All of my projects have been incredibly meaningful and impactful for the basic reason that I have only encountered educators and leaders who are seeking to continuously learn and grow in service of their students and communities.
Imali Ariyarathne, seventh-grade teacher at Langston Hughes Academy, introduces her students to the captivating world of science.
About TNTP
TNTP is the nation’s leading research, policy, and consulting organization dedicated to transforming America’s public education system, so that every generation thrives.
Today, we work side-by-side with educators, system leaders, and communities across 39 states and over 6,000 districts nationwide to reach ambitious goals for student success.
Yet the possibilities we imagine push far beyond the walls of school and the education field alone. We are catalyzing a movement across sectors to create multiple pathways for young people to achieve academic, economic, and social mobility.