Aly Martinez

What I work on: In my role, I collaborate and support amazing colleagues + partners to design, lead, and enact projects that rehumanize educational systems for students experiencing racial, ethnic, and linguistic inequities. My primary area is mathematics. 

Why I work here: I work at Student Achievement Partners because of the organizations’ deep commitment to human-centered design, shared leadership, and authentic feedback loops. I believe in the collective strength and impact possible when an organization leads with an anti-bias and anti-racist stance and am proud to work in a community that reflects on and questions the ways that privilege, power, and white-dominant culture show up in our educational system and interactions. It is through that strong equity lens that Student Achievement Partners works to dismantle systems that marginalize and silence students. 

My education and experience: Prior to joining Student Achievement Partners, I worked as the Instructional Coordinator of UTK-12 Mathematics for San Diego Unified School District. In that role I am proud to have led an expansive mathematics initiative with the SD Enhanced Math Leadership team to modernize mathematics by fostering student-centered learning + culturally responsive pedagogy, equitable assessment practices, and the scale of high quality math instructional materials. I have also worked as an Induction Math Mentor for Sweetwater Union High School District, coaching math educators early in their careers. I am proud to have started my educational journey as a Special Education Paraeducator while I was working on my bachelors, masters, and teacher certification at UCSD and I thank all of my students who helped create community and shared learning in my classrooms. 

More about me: I live in San Diego with my partner, three children, and two dogs. I love donuts, community math events, and am on a mission to learn new skills (ask me about watercolor painting and happy trees). Invite me to play a game or work on a puzzle and we will be fast friends!

A quote that inspires me: “Yet, students don’t have misconceptions. They have conceptions. And those conceptions make sense for them, until they encounter something that no longer works. They are only ‘misconceptions’ when we begin with the expectation that others need to come to our way of thinking or viewing the world”.  — Dr. Rochelle Gutierrez from “The Need to Rehumanize Mathematics”, Rehumanizing Mathematics for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Students