Welcome to Escuela 35!

When the pandemic closed classrooms in March 2020, Laura Castro faced a challenge that would transform her career: creating a meaningful biliterate education for her three- and five-year-old children. Drawing on her decade of experience as a dual language teacher and instructional coach, she quickly realized her training in balanced literacy hadn't prepared her to meet their foundational needs—nor had it addressed the gaps she'd instinctively felt in her classroom practice.

This personal journey became professional revelation. Through homeschooling, tutoring, and deep research into the Science of Reading, Laura discovered what had been missing: evidence-based approaches to biliteracy that honor how children truly develop language.

Today, Laura combines this hard-won expertise with her classroom experience to:

  • Train educators in English/Spanish foundational skills rooted in research

  • Guide schools through equitable implementation of biliteracy programs

  • Develop resources that bridge the Science of Reading with multilingual realities

As a sought-after literacy specialist, Laura has:
• Co-authored a phonological awareness curriculum
• Trained thousands of teachers through her role at Heggerty
• Presented at national and international conferences
• Supported districts across the Americas to transform literacy instruction

Her mission? To ensure professional learning and resources match what both teachers and students deserve: instruction that works.

Reviews and Feedback

  • She tailored the PD session directly to our needs - and it was fantastic! We appreciated the hands-on training and assessment practice, which she firmly situated in theory. Laura took a program that could be daunting and made us feel at ease and ready to go. Well done!

  • It was like fireworks when you showed the slide about developing oral language that is under the surface! It is natural to learn word/sentence level but needs expecit instruction under the word surface. Thank you!

  • I loved seeing the bridging, metalinguistic opportunities incorporated throughout the resource. I also appreciated that this PD was truly targeted for our audience of Instructional Specialists.

  • Teachers loved this PD. I kept getting private messages during the PD thanking me for it. I love how Laura gave so much information about the science. This is so important for teacher buy-in!

  • First of all, I’ve been in many trainings, both virtual and in person, and I thought yours was fantastic! You were so practical and relatable and I really appreciated your real word examples!

  • Thank you, Laura, you blessed my life today. I got an answer to a question that was burning a hole in my brain!! Thank you!! Thank you!!

  • Gracias por la cantidad de información! Y más aún por darme el placer de escuchar tu acento argentino, que el mio!

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