Perseverance and Education: The Path to Achieving Your Dreams with Dr. Rosalinda Rodriguez

Dr. Rosalinda Rodriguez shares her inspiring journey from immigrant to educational leader, author, and entrepreneur. Discover her tips for overcoming barriers, the power of persistence, and how she created Teach Insights to revolutionize teacher feedback.

key topics

• Rosalinda's immigrant journey and career progression
• The creation and impact of Teach Insights platform
• Tips for overcoming barriers and building resilience
• The importance of storytelling and sharing your journey
• Leadership in education and community impact

Connect with Rosalinda 

https://www.rnrcreations.org

amazon.com/author/rrcreations

Email: teachInsightsllc@gmail.com

Transcript

Theresa Cesare 0:06

Welcome to Heart to Talk the podcast. I am the host and creator Theresa Cesare My intention for this podcast is to deliver to you wisdom, inspiration, and consciousness. Through solo episodes and conversations amongst insightful people. It is my greatest honor to bring to you talks that come from the.

Speaker 0:31

Hello, amazing souls. Thank you so much for being here. Whether you're new to this space or you've been on this journey with me for a while, I'm so grateful that you press play today. You know, I created this podcast back in 2020 because I deeply desired a place to come back to for inspiration, to have a place to share my voice, my own wisdom. And to learn from the powerful stories of others, how they overcame challenges, built lives they once only dreamed of, and chose to live on purpose authentically and intentionally. This space is all about expanding our consciousness and potential. By hearing from everyday people living extraordinary, intentional lives that remind us of what's possible. Today's guest is a beautiful embodiment of that intention. Dr. Rosalinda Rodriguez Rosalinda is the director of multicultural curriculum for Tucson Unified School District, and she has devoted over two decades to champion equity, emotional intelligence, and transformative learning for both students and educators. She holds advanced degrees in education and leadership has been recognized for multiple statewide awards for her work as a principal and administrator, and is the founder and CEO of Teach Insights LLC, where she supports leaders through coaching, professional development, and motivational speaking. All rooted in her belief that dreams are achievable through perseverance and education. Friends, I'm so excited to bring to you my conversation with the inspiring Dr. Rosalinda Rodriguez

Theresa 2:08

I would love to welcome you to the show.

Rosalinda 2:10

thank you so much for the invitation. It is such a pleasure to get to see you again. But also to,, have your platform to, say all the things I always like to say.

Theresa 2:23

You are the literally embodiment of what this show means. So I would love for you to introduce yourself and tell us how you became the Dr. Rosalinda Rodriguez that you are today.

Rosalinda 2:35

First of all, I'm a mother of two amazing adults. A wife and a dog mom of two fur babies, Remy and Pix. So I have to bring the family. I

Theresa 2:46

love the dogs. The dog names are cute.

Rosalinda 2:49

They are, they're just cuteness with them. Outside of my home life. I'm a proud immigrant. Who's proud of the journey that, has shaped me. To the profession. I am now, I'm currently the director of Multicultural curriculum in Tucson Unified School District and the CEO and Co-founder of Teach Insights LLC. That is something I'll probably talk about a little later. But yeah, so my inspiration has always been my children, um, who make me proud every day professionally. Well. Where can I start? I came to the United States when I was a 21-year-old. I didn't speak the language, no degrees. I mean, I had finished grade school in Mexico, but not, um, nothing like that would count here. So I initially started working at the fields, picking, cleaning cotton fields, things like that. And then I was promoted to cleaning farmers' houses.

Theresa 3:56

Yeah.

Rosalinda 3:57

And then at some point, you know, I was also making burritos, you know, for the farmer workers and things like that. And then, um, one day the lady that used to help me with babysitting for my daughter, she said she was also waitress at the truck stop. And she's like, Hey, um, there's an opening for waitressing if you wanna try. And I was like, terrified. I didn't speak English. I mean, I was learning, trying really hard to learn. And so. She's like, don't worry, let me practice some questions and I'll try to tell you like how to say the different things. And so he's like, why don't you talk to the manager and see, you know? And he's like, well, if you can do, the manager said If you can do the interview in English, I'll hire you. And I said, okay, I'll try. So needless to say, I did get higher and higher than, than the wage was my friend. She would. I would like take the notes like phonetically of what people wanted. Obviously I learned like the greetings and the, you know, what would you like today and all this little phrases. And then, um, I would take phonetically the notes and then she will tell me, like, I'll go back. It's like, okay, what does this mean? It's like, oh, biscuits and gravy and like, you know, just. The things, it was mostly breakfast.'cause I worked in the mornings and so that's how I learned the basics. And then I worked there for about a year and a half. And then it was kind of slow, so there wasn't a lot of work. And then I went to, to a gas station that needed a cashier. And then some days was cashier, some days was Subway, some days was Baskin Robbins. It was like. A combination job. So I learned a lot of skills and obviously a lot of English, but my children were in, in school. Um, well my daughter was in school and she was in kinder and then first grade, and she was bringing home things that I didn't know how to do and how to help her. And she's always been super smart. But, um, not that she needed a lot of help, but I wanted to help if needed. So, I've heard that there was an opening as a teaching assistant in the school, in the local school. So I just applied. And when I talk about persistence later on, I will tell you I applied about a dozen times.

Theresa 6:19

Wow.

Rosalinda 6:19

And then the 12th time the superintendent was at the door and he's like, you really wanna work here, don't you? Wow. And I was like, absolutely. He's like, can you drive a bus? I said, can you teach me how? He's like, okay, you're hired. And, um, I'm assuming he was either my persistent or my luck, or there was just no applicants or I, I don't know. He, he knew I wanted to do it, so that was my job initially in education. That was in 2001. I was in the kindergarten classroom for four years. During that time, no Child Left Behind came into place and it required teaching assistants to have an associate's. And the superintendent said, Hey, I don't know what you're gonna do, but you gotta go to college. And I was like, oh my gosh. I have my certificate from Mexico, uh, for high school. And that's about it. Sometimes they don't count that. So I had to go do the G, my GED probably the worst score I ever had on the test because I just went and did the test and I passed it barely.

Theresa 7:26

Oh my gosh.

Rosalinda 7:27

But I needed that GED to enroll in college and you know, with a Spanish English dictionary baby on my lap and a computer. My husband got me. I've never even had touched a computer. I had no skills. I started going to college. Um, and then here I am now.

Theresa 7:47

That's seriously so amazing to think that what seemed like it was maybe a roadblock was actually the stepping stone to your next level when he is like, oh, here we are. And like you said, most people would've been so intimidated and been like, well, if I have to get my associates, maybe I just will go do something else where it's maybe more comfortable. But you still did things scared, unsure,

Rosalinda 8:10

terrified. Terrified. I mean. You, you know, you have that little dial up internet like it was a while ago, you know, 2002 or so. And, I was terrified of many things. I Was, you know, a bus driver in the morning during the day. I was a teaching assistant in the afternoon. I, I was driving the bus and, then. I had to take care of my family. I had a toddler and a first second grader at that time, and my husband and people, he's been a trooper I went to school for a long time to get to where I am. And I wouldn't have done it without him and, and the support of, of the kids because at some point. When I was doing my master's and my doctorate, I mean, we would all sit together after dinner and, and do our homework. And together they grew up proofread my papers. And, you know, so yeah. That is, how I got here.

Theresa 9:09

That's so amazing. Well shout out to your husband. What's his name? It's

Rosalinda 9:14

Samuel. Samuel, yeah.

Theresa 9:16

Well, Samuel, shout out to you. And it's like they were your support system and how beautiful for it to be, like those closest to you, your family.

Rosalinda 9:24

Mm-hmm.

Theresa 9:24

And then like you said, your children and, and I loved what like inspired you. You said it was like my kids. I wanted to be able to support them. And here you are in this incredible position and we're gonna go through all the amazing things you've accomplished. Not only just. Education wise. I mean, I don't even have my doctorate and I was born here with the language, and I just can't imagine that, like that process of going to school, that higher education with English as your second language, which is so powerful that you're doing the work that you're doing because you are living proof in all levels and are the perfect person to lead, how has that shaped you as a leader in, in your space?

Rosalinda 10:03

I truly believe that when you have a dream, you have to go for it. And I'm gonna tell you, my dream was never to be who I am now. It truly wasn't when I finished my associates. At that time, I had moved on to be an office clerk. So I did kindergarten, teaching assistant for four years. And two of the years I became a funny thing. The, the teacher went on maternity leave. So I became the teacher because, oh my gosh, Portage. So it was towards the end of my associates. And so I learned most of my English in that classroom, working with phonics. And, all that phonemic awareness, the letter sounds and the letter naming and, putting together words and reading to the students, like that's what helped me the most with my English. And then. Once I finished my associates, I was like, well, what's next? I I felt like I needed more. I was like, oh, well I could be a teacher. I mean, I was already a teacher. I, I gotta try, but I don't think I wanna do kinder, so, or like elementary. So I went, I enrolled in, at the University of Arizona and then I got my bachelor's in in Spanish education and psychology. And then I was a teacher and during that time that I was a teacher but then I started doing technology and when they needed art, I did art and like whatever they needed me to do, it was a small district that I was working at. So I ended up being there, the technology director for a couple years, and then coordinator as well. And then the county co county hired me as a. EO coordinator for small schools. And so on Fridays when we didn't have school, it was a four day week, uh, district, I traveled around the county, um, providing services for EL students, all their testing, the professional development, data analysis and things like that. It was great. And then I, I thought, okay, um, I, I feel like I can do more. Every time I finished some goal that I achieved, I felt like I could do more, like I could learn more, so I could do more for, for our students, for education, for teachers. And then I just have this passion, which is still, it's my most recent one, to just not improve our system, our education to system, but change it.

Theresa 12:24

I love that.

Rosalinda 12:25

And because we've been doing what we're doing, and I heard someone in education in higher education said, said this in a conference, and, and it was so true. It's like we've been doing the same thing for many years, trying to improve it, trying to patch it, trying to fix it. We need to stop doing that. We need to change it.

Theresa 12:44

Yeah.

Rosalinda 12:44

And, and so that really resonated with me and that's my, my. Where I'm at right now is like I wanna do the best I can to make change.

Theresa 12:54

Oh, I love that. Just not be an observer, but be part of the solution and the change. So what is your mission?

Rosalinda 13:00

Mainly to help others who. That everything is possible with hard work, hope, persistence, and the desire to build a better life for you and your family and those around you. Because at the end of the day, there's also all this other people that we are in contact with today

Theresa 13:21

mm-hmm.

Rosalinda 13:22

That are part of our village, or just simply people that need the support and then also passion for education. It changed my life. It truly did. And I know that our education system, again, does not need to be improved. It needs to be changed. And I believe that more and better education that we offer to our, to our students, the better we, the better education we offer to our students. The community will be better because we'll be better educated and our students will do better in life. They will create a life that is better for their children when they have them. It's just like. Creating this generational love for a better life.

Theresa 14:02

I would love for you to tell us about how you became an author the memoir titled A Purple Truck and a Box of Dishes. Can you tell us about your book journey?

Rosalinda 14:14

Yeah, that was another one of those unexpected things that I didn't know I was gonna do. So when I was in college at the U of A, there was several professors. One very dear to me, Dr. Karner was my Spanish professor. Later on, when I got my master's, when I got to that level, she hired me to teach some SEI classes through the U of A and I, I did that for a few years too. But she always told me, well, so Linda, you have to write your story. You have to tell people all the things you've done. And I was like, yeah, sure. Uh, you know, uh, yeah. Okay. I can barely speak English without an accent or with some accent and like, you want me to write? Publish and like, who's gonna want to publish a story from a nobody, you know? And I was like, you know that imposter syndrome that we all have at some point it's very real. And then, so I just never thought about it after that. But then I finished my dissertation in 2022. And with that, I got invited to participate in, so I, I'm part of this organization and shout out to them because they are my true village, I'm telling you. Mm. Um, a, the original association of Latino administrators and superintendents and the national analyst, which I'm part of the. Yay. Of the Superintendent Leadership Academy right now. Cohort 15.

Theresa 15:47

Yes. Shout out to That's amazing, by the way.

Rosalinda 15:49

Yeah. Um, they, they, um, so, so those organizations, so through that organization, someone heard of me in my dissertation when they invited me, was Latina leader little PD presentation that they wanted me to do virtually for, usually they do stuff like that and they operate to all the members of Alice and National Alice. And so I did my presentation and there was a lady there, Montoya Saraza, who is the author, and the creator of a trilogy, which is also in my bio of Latina Radiance. And so she was compounding stories like mine from leaders. Latina leaders. The initial one is just Latinas. And then she did two other books that I also participated. So I wrote a chapter in each one of the trilogy of the books, and I was so honored and I was just so like, oh my gosh, I can't, I can't believe someone invited me to do this. So I wrote a chapter. I mean, I loved it and everything seemed like so cool. And like I was proud that I was able to write a little bit of my story, a little bit of why I do what I do and, and how I got where I got. So when that ended, I was like, Hmm, okay, so I'm not doing dissertation. You know, when you go with your doctors and you're like, okay, what's next? I, I got a doctorate. Where else can I go with that?. Did this chapters and what's next. And so then I was like, oh, well maybe it's time to write my story. And so I just started writing March of 2020. And in December my, I was very ambitious. I wanted to finish by my birthday in July.

Theresa 17:34

Aw,

Rosalinda 17:34

didn't happen. I was march to July to write a book. I mean, I thought, oh, well I can tell, I can tell my story real easy. But no, it wasn't that easy. I was totally wrong. And so I finished and self-published in January for New Years. We celebrated it was right. And so it is my story, my journey and, and then at the end, just a story of hope. And I don't even wanna use the word resilience, but persistence instead and at the end there's a place to write goals. So at the end is there's like a goal setting sheet and then another sheet to write your steps. And I've done that activity with some people in some of my presentations. And it's been great. A lot of doors have opened after that. And the purple truck and the box of dishes. The title was something that we came up as a family the purple truck is a box of dishes, is all my husband and I had when we, when we first got together and moved into United States. Wow.

Theresa 18:31

I love that. That was gonna be my next question. How did you come up with the title? It's catchy. You could tell it's it has a story and I love that. I love, love just the culmination of like how everything transpired. One thing led to the next and then to the next. And then you got shown what was possible. But there was someone there that opened the door, but you chose to walk through it. And so for anyone listening on their journey, what like top. Three tips would you give for listeners?

Rosalinda 19:03

First of all, don't let any barrier, keep you away from accomplishing your goals. Recognize exactly what is holding you back, whether it's fear, the lack of knowledge, uh, physical obstacle, and we define it as a challenge to overcome mm-hmm. Rather than a permanent limitation. So that's step one, and then break it down, transform. That large challenge, that intimidating obstacle into manageable, smaller, small and actionable steps. And this kind of reduces that overwhelming effect. And this, it builds momentum, and then third, and take action and truly just take one step at a time and don't be afraid to seek help or mentorship to keep moving forward. So that's tip, tip number one. And then the second one would be not if we, trajectory is straight. There's like, and there's this visual, I don't have it with me, but where there's a straight line and then there's a. An arrow and then there's another one with a squiggly line and it goes somewhere. You know, mine certainly wasn't a straight path. I mean, in fact, when I was do, when I first started my doctorate, I had to take a five year break when we moved to Tucson and I was all about dissertation, got an EDS instead, and then I retook it again in 2020 because I like to do things. Well done. I couldn't at that point with my son going to high school, playing all the sports, me working far away from his school, I couldn't give all three things a hundred percent. I chose to be a mom first and to make sure my pets were taken care of, my husbandman and my household. But that doesn't matter. Like it does not matter where the road, what road you take, what matters is that you get there, that you get to your destination. And I did. So you know. And then the third tip is just tell your story. I always get told, oh, your story is so amazing, but you know what? I'm just a sample of millions and billions of people with similar stories, with a different twist. We all have a story. I was just privileged to have, the technology and, the knowledge to be able to self-publish it. I mean, not even with publishers that charge a lot of money. So I had the knowledge to publish it and like just to be able to speak and take that story out there because our stories need to be told they do because it helps us understand each other and the struggles that we overcame to get to where we are now. It helps us, help others that are coming up as well. Understand their journey and how they can get to where they need to get with our support, just like we were. I wanna add something I always like to remind everyone to build their village because you don't need everyone to be clapping for you, but you do need every, you need to believe in yourself when the room is empty inside So those are my tips.

Theresa 22:18

love that. Amazing tips. Like I'm listening and I'm like, yes, it's a good reminder. Can I just say, those are the best tips I think I've had on the show in a long time. So thank you. We know you are a director. Well, mother first and wife, we love that. Yeah. Director, author, and you are also an entrepreneur. Can you tell us about your business and what you do and how people can work with you and hire you?

Rosalinda 22:41

Absolutely. I was a principal for, four years and an assistant principal, another thing that is a passion of mine is like I totally geek out about just going into classrooms and, observing teachers, providing feedback. That was like my favorite thing to do as a principal and creating those relationships with teachers because teachers want to do well. There is no teacher in the classroom out there thinking they're just there collecting a paycheck because we all know. Education does not pay sufficient enough for the work that we do. There is no teacher out there wanting to do a bad job, but there is a lot of training that principals need to go through, and I was fortunate enough to receive it, to receive that training in my first principalship of three years. Teachers need the support, need the feedback, need the consistency, and. I wanted a tool where I didn't have to do a little sticky or carbon paper copies or send it to me on a Google form or a office form, and then having to go to my office later on when I have time and forward the email with the results. Initially I find my way with add-ons and things to do that with Office 360 and forms. And then I was like, yeah, every year we have to set it up. And then I helped other principals with it. So I was leading a, then uh, there was a couple of principals and then there's other peers that liked what I was doing and wanted to try it. So I had to go help them set it up every year.'cause you had to be a little bit of a teching. And I'm not that big of a techie, although I was a technology director at some point and all this, there's a lot of things I still don't know, but luckily my son is a software engineer and so he said, mom, why don't I just make you something? So he did.

Theresa 24:34

Oh, that's awesome.

Rosalinda 24:35

So he created this website and we can put any form, like I have principals right now trying it.'cause we're, we were, this last, this year, we were in a. Kind of like a pilot test. Yeah. There are principles that are using that form to even do a walkthrough with their custo is'cause it's very flexible and it collects the data and analyzes the data. Right now we're adding the AI component to look for trends, but But it sends the emails immediately to the teacher. So when I tried it first, it was amazing because I just walked in the classroom, fill out the form, provided feedback. I can even use my voice to text on my phone or an iPad. And then I walked out, press the button, and the teacher gets it. And there are some things out there, I'm assuming some other platforms, but. Teach Insights was made by someone that was in the field, and then I wasn't a principal anymore. And then my son and I is like, oh, well what do we do? This is amazing. And so we just decided to turn it into, teach Insights, uh, which is a platform to provide teacher feedback. I created a form based on. Essential elements of instruction and the things that I have learned, uh, through being a principal that schools can use or they can use their own adopted form and enter it in there. And um, yeah, it's been an amazing journey. I have provided professional development in some schools for principals to be able to use the form and provide effective feedback.'cause it's not just telling them or checking boxes. Fully, the meaningful feedback that they received and that you're following through and following up with them and making sure they can tell you what we need to reach. Those goals as teachers for those students to be one. So that's amazing. I that, uh, teach Insights turned into an educational services company that now offers SEI training for teachers to receive endorsement. And I'm starting to do a little bit of, um, public speaking, just some motivational spooky. So yeah, that's teach insight.

Theresa 26:53

Yay. Congratulations on that launch. And you literally created something that you needed. And then you had like your son help you with it. I just love that so much and I know what it's like. I was a teacher, I taught in TUSD years ago at Oyama, and I remember principal coming in and she would leave like a little post-it. And then they had the formal observations, but the time it takes, and it's so much on everyone, but like for that teacher to get that immediate feedback and principal feel like, okay, I've got it documented. It feels good. You don't feel at the end of your day you have all these notes or whatever. So I just love it. Oh my gosh, you're amazing. And we wanna follow you on your journey. Okay. How can this audience connect with you? What's the best place to find you and hire you? All the things.

Rosalinda 27:36

So we have RR creations, but it's RNR, and then creations.org. It's my website, teach Insights is in there. My books are in there, contact information is in there, and social media platforms are in there. But also just email, teach Insights, llc@gmail.com. That's how they can reach me anytime for anything, even just if they wanna know more about, the book or teaching sites or anything. I do wanna take the opportunity to thank you for inviting me to, to your podcast. It has been an honor to share my story because it's not just my story. It is a story of many others. Um, if you find it in your hearts to purchase my book, read it, read it, and gift it, that would be amazing. Like I said, if people Talk in a Box of Dishes is an inspirational book in which. I share my story, some poetry. Ooh. And it inspires you to accomplish, that one thing that you always dreamed about.

Theresa 28:47

I love it. In all of that, I will drop in the show notes. Okay, so anyone that listens to this episode, go to the show notes, the links, the contact information, email, all that will be in the show notes. And we're gonna now pivot to the final ending questions, per tradition. So the first one I ask everyone that comes on,'cause I am obsessed with affirmations. And so that being said, what is your favorite affirmation that you use?

Rosalinda 29:10

It's God's plans better than my dreams.

Theresa 29:13

Mm. I love that.

Rosalinda 29:15

And I have always seen how I dream something and I can dream all of these things, and then he always gives me something better, especially after going through hard times. He has an amazing way to reward me for my work by helping me and guiding me to accomplish the dreams that I bring and te.

Theresa 29:36

Hmm. I love that. And the second question, what is your favorite book?

Rosalinda 29:42

Okay. That's gonna be really hard to answer one, because I I can be a little biased and say my,

Theresa 29:49

I was gonna say Do love your own,

Rosalinda 29:52

but I read a, I read books for very different reasons and I do love reading a, a book that I recently had the pleasure to read was the measure. By Nick.

Theresa 30:06

Okay.

Rosalinda 30:07

Now that really made me think about how I live my life and really had to rethink my priorities. Mm-hmm. So if anybody has an opportunity to read that one, I recommend that book. I really like reading books when a movie's coming out. Like I have to read the book before I go watch the movie. So like the housemates for example, and like when the Vampire movies came out, I read all those books. But also I love reading books from Hispanic authors that tell, wonderful worth it stories like I'm Not the Mexican, your Perfect Mexican daughter by like Erica Sanchez. And don't ask me where I'm from, like Jennifer Leon and this one's not by a Latina, but it's, Monday's not coming. Oh my gosh. That one made me cry. And then the chicas don't cry. And then I'm reading the new Brene Brown books. They eng great me, I mean, I just read for different purposes. And it's, I don't have a favorite, but I have all those choices and then I read in Spanish and English, so I have more books to read.

Theresa 31:11

That's incredible. I love that. Thank you for all of those recommendations. Love it. Love it. And the next question, what inspires you, your work and your creativity?

Rosalinda 31:23

So many things. My children, children in general. I love people. Uh, and seeing people succeed and happy. I love making and gifting things to people. If I, there's probably people that will listen to this and they will know what I'm talking about because I do like crafting and I like making things to give away, like my teachers used to be beneficiaries of that when I was a principal and, and I love learning. I always say if I, if I won the lottery, I would go back to school to study something else, like psychology, I know how going work. It's just an inevitable thing. So, yeah, that inspires me.

Theresa 32:02

I love that. And the final question, what are you most proud of?

Rosalinda 32:06

I'm proud of what my family and I have accomplished together. I'm proud of every. Women that lived. Another woman I'm proud of my village and the great people in it, like the s the National SASA. My SSA cohort 15 Ros woo woo. My dusty Carla Martinez and mentors like Dr. Vin Lovato. Martinez. Lisa Mcco, my TOD family. We are such a wonderful quilt made of love and support for each other.

Theresa Cesare 32:43

Thank you so much for tuning into this episode. Please download, rate, subscribe, and share this podcast. Also, be sure to visit my theresacesare.com to check out my inspirational merch, connect to my social accounts, and much more may you continue to be filled with wisdom, inspiration, and consciousness. Otherwise, friends, I will be back for another episode of Heart to.