Throughout her 27 years in education, Rosa Floyd has taught pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade. For the past 22 years, she has led a Danza Folklorico program that has been the subject of published research articles due to how it has impacted and empowered the community. Instrumental in starting the first district-run preschool in Woodburn, Oregon, Floyd believes that education is crucial to lift up and empower historically marginalized communities and views students’ languages and background as assets, not barriers, to success.

Floyd was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. She earned her diploma in folkloric dance and a master’s degree in architecture and interior design from the University of Guadalajara. Floyd continued studies in language and literature at Universidad de Complutense in Madrid, Spain. When she moved to the United States, Floyd worked as an instructional assistant at a migrant summer school and high school in Hillsboro, Oregon. Seeing the needs of Spanish-speaking students prompted a career change in Floyd’s life and led her to pursue a teaching career. She completed her master’s degree in bilingual education at Portland State University.

While teaching for the immersion Spanish program at the International School in Portland, Floyd was recruited by Woodburn, a Title 1 school district, where she has taught dual-immersion kindergarten at Nellie Muir Elementary for the past 22 years. Floyd continues to work with students and colleagues to connect school to the community and create opportunities to extend learning beyond the classroom.