Joyce Carrasco, is a retired teacher from the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools where she served for over two decades as a lower school teacher, curriculum writer, director of the Lab Summer Program, and chair of Faculty II. She holds a BA from LaGrange College and a Master of Theological Studies from Emory University s Candler School of Theology. She is an American Montessori certified 3-6 teacher and a certified Director of Christian Education. As a young college graduate, Joyce served with the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church as a Latin America 3 missionary in Chile. Joyce is married to Rev. Oscar Carrasco, a District Superintendent of the Northern… Illinois Conference of the UMC. Joyce lives in Elgin, Illinois with her husband, and they have four children and eight grandchildren.
Ngoc-Diep Nguyen, PhD, is a professor of education at Northeastern Illinois University, specializing in bilingual education. She has been a Spanish and French High School teacher, a teacher trainer and a school administrator. Ngoc-Diep is a member of Our Redeemer United Methodist Church, Schaumburg, IL. Together, these three women designed the curriculum, taught it, and trained instructors in how to use it.