Sessions
Advocacy and Responsibility Beyond the Classroom: The Power of Providing Holistic Support for Systematically Marginalized Students
11:30 AM - 12:45 PM Thu
Sylvia Ortega is the High School Programs Coordinator at Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM). During the summer she co-directs one of BEAM's non-residential summer sites for 6th graders. Previously, she has worked in juvenile detention centers and Family Court as a forensic social worker. Sylvia has a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice and a Master's in Social Work, both from the University at Albany.
Sylvia is very passionate about narrowing the achievement gap between low-income, underserved students of color and their more affluent and privileged peers. Growing up in the Bronx, New York, she observed and experienced the inequities that existed in the education system. Now, as an educator she aims to break down those barriers and equip students with the resources and knowledge they need in order to be at the same starting line as their peers.