Rafely Palacios
Bilingual First-Grade Teacher
San Mateo-Foster City School District
In 2024, Rafely Palacios and a dedicated team of teachers at John Muir Elementary School in San Francisco received a LIGHT Award for their project to improve literacy outcomes for their Latino English Learner students. The team attended an on-line training academy and conferences, and worked together to help develop new practical strategies that can be applied in real-world classrooms.
In September 2025, their methodology was highlighted in a Substack post by Professor Claude Goldenberg, which shares Rafely’s story “What Works for English Learners: A Journey from Whole Language to Effective Reading Instruction.”
Rafely shared:
“I am very thankful to the LIGHT Awards for funding our project, Unlocking the Science of Biliteracy. Through this opportunity, I broadened my understanding of teaching reading by participating in professional development, attending conferences, and collaborating with peers to share ideas and improve my teaching practices. I now use this knowledge in my role as a bilingual first-grade teacher in the San Mateo-Foster City School District, where I incorporate these insights into my literacy lessons.”