Erica Winston is an accomplished education professional with over a decade of experience transforming teaching and leadership in charter schools across New Orleans. A Harvard Graduate School of Education alumna, Winston has consistently driven significant improvements in teacher effectiveness and student performance through innovative coaching strategies and professional development programs.

In the heart of the Freret neighborhood, a dedicated teacher is revolutionizing the 3rd grade experience with a series of innovative, immersive learning adventures. Ms. Cerda, a veteran educator at Samuel J. Green, a FirstLine School, has spent the last decade and a half crafting and refining what she calls “signature grade-level experiences” – a set of traditions that have become the hallmark of the third-grade curriculum. We recently sat down with Ms. Cerda to talk about how these experiences enhance student engagement and learning, and help to build positive, transformational relationships between students and teachers.