About Me

Shana Cunningham is a visionary educational leader who believes in redefining what is possible in the classroom by increasing access and student learning outcomes for ALL learners, regardless of their race, ethnicity, language, culture, background, socioeconomic status, zip code, or gender. Using data-driven instruction, evidence-based best practices, asset-based culturally responsive teaching methods, and individualized teacher coaching, Cunningham challenges the status quo. Cunningham has proven to bridge the gap between what was once thought to be impossible to measurable successes in her own district, where she currently serves as the Assistant Principal of Humanities. 

​

Cunningham has been a part of the development of the first fully immersive Early College model grades 6-12 charter school in Massachusetts. Being part of such a groundbreaking experience has given Cunningham a unique perspective on leadership, teacher development, as well as curriculum development in the Humanities. Cunningham has experience implementing evidence-based coaching methods that provide teachers with the individualized coaching and support necessary to improve instruction and student learning outcomes for ALL learners. 

 

More specifically, Cunningham has experience engaging teachers in individualized coaching cycles that focus on the development of data-driven instruction, evidence-based culturally responsive teaching practices, evidence-based writing and reading instructional strategies, and classroom management. Cunningham has been creating and facilitating high quality, professional development for over a decade, training hundreds of teachers, both veterans and first year teachers alike.

 

During Cunningham's tenure as an Early College academic leadership team member, she has spearheaded innovative initiatives that have resulted in measurable positive impacts on student learning. Specifically, Cunningham has piloted initiatives in the areas of reading, writing, and college-ready skills development. These data-driven initiatives have led to improved reading outcomes and narrowing reading gaps across grades 6-10, as evidenced by MCAS data. One of Cunningham's most noteworthy achievements was the procurement and implementation of a new, culturally responsive, standards-aligned writing curriculum that ensured alignment of instructional practices and expectations across grades 6-12. This new writing curriculum significantly increased overall writing performance on college entry exams by nearly doubling the amount of students qualifying for college composition classes in 10th grade. 

​

Shana Cunningham is an experienced, multilingual and multicultural educator who possesses a Bachelor's degree in Spanish, with a minor in Portuguese, a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), and is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership K-12. Cunningham has a background in ESL and holds multiple administrative licenses. In addition to Cunningham's administrative background, she also holds licenses to teach ESL, ELA, Spanish, and Portuguese in the state of Massachusetts. 

​

Cunningham has been asked to present at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Office of Language Acquistion (OLA) EL Leadership Network Meeting, shared best practices at the Middle College National Consortium, and presented at the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA) Connecting for Success Conference.​

​

As the daughter of immigrants, and someone whose first language and culture was not analogous with the standardized language and culture found in the American schools she grew up in, Cunningham is aware of the biases in our education system, and is passionate about creating equity in education.

 

Cunningham has made it her mission to create the learning conditions necessary for students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds to showcase their genius and experience success at rates comparable to and above students in less diverse communities. One of Cunningham's personal goals is to eradicate the reading gap in the current district, where she serves as the Assistant Principal of Humanities. Because, why would the expectation be any less than excellence for ALL students?  The fact of the matter is that our culturally and linguistically diverse students can do the same rigorous, standards-aligned work that is expected of ALL learners in two or more languages and transfer new concepts between two or more cultural contexts, giving students of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds a competitive edge in our ever-expanding global economy.