Maria Alejandra Hernandez
Director, Consulting
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Maria has extensive experience helping district leaders and educators evaluate, select, and implement high-quality instructional materials that provide all students, especially BIPOC and multilingual children, access to grade-level, culturally responsive instruction.
As a former bilingual educator, Maria saw the inequities that existed firsthand when she had to create her own curriculum from scratch. She went on to earn a master’s in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where her coursework focused on family and community engagement, supporting multilingual and immigrant students, and diverse teacher recruitment and retention. At the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE), she was the Instructional Policy Lead, supporting districts statewide with curriculum evaluation, selection, and adoption with a focus on cultural responsiveness. Maria is the eldest daughter of Alberto and Josefina Hernandez, two immigrants from Guanajuato, Mexico. She was the first in her family to graduate high school, earn a college degree, and earn a master’s degree.
My commitment to ensuring all children have access to opportunity and power sent me in search of an opportunity to coach and support district and school leaders, with an organization whose values were at the center of their work.
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.