Her Story
About Lauren
Lauren Giunta serves as the ESL coordinator and ESL teacher at her school in Brooklyn, New York. With 20 years in education and 8 years in media for a total of nearly 30 years in her combined fields, she brings a unique background from reality TV production and professional makeup artistry to her teaching. Giunta earned a Bachelor's of Science in Journalism from Northeastern University, where she minored in Marketing and Spanish with a concentration in public relations, and she holds a Master's in TESOL from Fordham University. She created the first year-long virtual foreign exchange elective course in the United States, connecting her students with peers in countries including Moldova, Bangladesh, Guatemala, and Tunisia. As Seal of Biliteracy coordinator, she guides students through rigorous, AP-aligned research projects in their native languages. Giunta attributes her success to her ability to think and act quickly under pressure, which allows her to individualize instruction while maintaining high standards of rigor and academic language for all learners regardless of their starting point. She values creativity and communication, fostering classroom communities where students act as peer experts and build on each other's strengths.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lauren
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to being good at acting on the spot and thinking quickly under pressure, which helps me individualize instruction for each student without watering things down. I ensure all students are exposed to rigor and interesting academic language regardless of their starting point.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received was from a dean early in my teaching career about classroom management. He advised leveraging my own relationships and rigor with students so they respect me directly rather than relying on outside help like calling the dean, and to figure out the secret sauce for each individual kid since every student is different.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I definitely value creativity and communication. I love working on teams and creating community in the classroom where students can rely on each other as peer experts rather than me being the only authority.
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