Ernie Richardson Santana is a 2023-2024 Teach Plus Pennsylvania Policy Fellow. Ernie is a bilingual kindergarten teacher at Pan American Academy Charter School in Philadelphia. She focuses on teaching children bilingual/biliteracy development, and is part of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging Taskforce of PAACS. Ernie started her career in education as a curriculum developer in the Dominican Republic and taught college freshmen. She entered elementary education in the United States as a Teach for America corps member teaching kindergarten in Philadelphia. Ernie was named Pan American Academy Charter School’s Teacher of the Year. She earned her BA in psychology and MA in educational center management from Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC); and an MA in teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education.
