What does Learning to Liberate mean?
When students feel liberated in their learning, they dive deep into complex topics, ask their own questions and apply what they learn to change the world. When teachers feel liberated in their practice, they create engaging, student-centered lessons, increase achievement for all learners and cultivate genius in every content area.
My Approach
I take a collaborative, action-oriented, and justice-focused approach to tackling educational challenges. My work is grounded in equity, using research-based strategies to develop practical solutions that build capacity and empower educators. I prioritize stakeholders—students, families, and educators—while leveraging strengths and addressing systemic barriers to create meaningful, lasting change.
I focus on supporting schools in the urban core, serving diverse populations across race, ethnicity, languages, cultures, and newcomer status. My approach is especially attuned to the needs of historically underserved students, including LGBTQ+ and nonbinary students, who often face opportunity gaps.
My goal is to equip secondary educators with the tools to support students at a critical stage—helping them develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive as adults pursuing their passions. By keeping equity at the center of my work, I aim to empower those farthest from opportunity, closing gaps and creating liberated classrooms where all students can succeed.
Hi, I’m Tina De La Fe, founder of Learning to Liberate.
From navigating systemic barriers to striving for meaningful change, I have worked for more than 20 years to create successful, liberated classrooms. My mission is to support school communities to create environments where every learner can thrive. I've been a journalist, Peace Corps volunteer, middle school teacher with Teach for America, grade-level leader, reading specialist, professional development facilitator, leadership coach, district strategic planner and curriculum designer.
At Learning to Liberate, we center our work on
research-based practices
the Science of Reading
Rigor in Mathematics
Disciplinary Literacy
knowledge-building
truthful history
healthy systems
inclusive polities,
antiracism
Learning to Liberate will guide you through the tough but transformative work of dismantling barriers, cultivating equity, and building liberatory systems.
