Geri Chaffee

Affiliation

Dreamers Academy

Biography

Host, Por Nuestros Niños Podcast Founder, Dreamers Academy DLI Public Charter School Sarasota, FL Geri is a longtime education advocate with a passion for building capacity and programming for all students, especially focusing on English Language Learners. Most recently she founded Dreamers Academy, a dual language Spanish immersion public charter school which opened August 2021 in Sarasota, Florida. When the pandemic forced the closure of schools, many parents were desperate for guidance to teach their children at home. Geri co-created Por Nuestros Niños, a national radio show and podcast that empowers Spanish-speaking families to support their children in from early learning through college in the US public education system. Geri is a founding member of FABE, Florida’s Association of Bilingual Education. She serves on the Cabinet of the first Community Partnership School in Manatee School District, an also served on the district’s Strategic Plan Task Force. The daughter of Hispanic immigrants, Geri was an English Language Learner and has witnessed first-hand the struggles of students and families attempting to navigate the cultural, linguistic and social maze that proves traumatic and insurmountable for many. She believes that today’s immigrant communities are fertile ground for academic influence and outsized social benefits – possesing commitment to education, a strong work ethic, passionate generational involvement and a drive to succeed.