370: Building a Foundation with Adina Medina
In this episode, we sit down with educator Adina Medina to explore what it truly means to build a strong foundation in education—for students, teachers, and school communities.
https://alwaysalesson.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/355-Open-to-Learning-with-Jennifer-Burns-1.jpgQUOTABLES
**All quotes are from the interviewee**
* "Teachers who hang on the idea that we’re always learning and we can always do better are the teachers that develop into leaders."
* "Being reflective in every moment has been really helpful."
* "It’s important to help foster the teachers."
ABOUT ADINA MEDINA
Adina Medina was born and raised in the Bronx, NY, when she became a lifelong learner. The teachers and administrators at St. John Chrysostom loved on her and pushed her to excel academically even when her outside life became unstable. After living in New Jersey for a few years and graduating from High School in Queens, NY, Adina attended SUNY New Paltz, where she majored in English with a minor in Black Studies. After graduating with her BA, she started her career as a Magazine Editor in the Dental Field and shifted focus to education when her first child, Melanie, was born. Adina served as a High School English teacher at a small Christian school in her first year and STUNK IT UP. With no mentor in place, it was really the hardest year ever, and she was ready (and told!) to give up. Instead of giving up, she landed in a small all-girl's Catholic High School in Hoboken, NJ, and it was there that her administrators suggested she attend Seton Hall's EPICS (Educational Partners in Catholic Schools) program. Adina earned her Master's in Education, with a focus on Curriculum Development while raising her toddler, and that program launched her passion and drive for fostering rigorous, engaging academics first within her classroom and then schoolwide. Adina served as a High School English teacher in Elizabeth NJ for ten years and, after having observed that her students who struggled least with the rigors of AP level content were those who came into high school with a strong foundation, she decided to shift her focus to Middle School ELA. Adina joined the Hoboken Dual Language Charter School (HoLa) in 2013 and served as a founding 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade English teacher for five years. The school was only in its third year of operation and Adina was able to play a major role in developing the Dual Language Curriculum that is currently used today. In 2017, Adina attended Relay's National Principal Academy Fellowship and began her training as an Educational Coach. After serving as a coach for two years, Adina shifted into the Instructional Lead position and then into a full Principalship while earning her certification at Rutgers University. She is currently the Middle School Principal at HoLa, where she is beyond privileged to guide her students in becoming bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural individuals with a firm academic foundation who are going to make this world a better, more inclusive place one step at a time.
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
* www.holahoboken.org [https://www.holahoboken.org/]
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