Image of the headshot of Katie Cardamone, RIEEA Board Member. She has long light colored hair and a black shirt, and is smiling at the camera in front of a mirror. The image is in black and white.

Meet Katie Cardamone, Founder and Director of Nuestro Mundo Public Charter School.

Katie is an experienced educator, working 15 years as an elementary Spanish immersion teacher. After graduating with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Clark University, she lived and worked in Guatemala. She served as the Program Coordinator for the Multistate Association of Bilingual Education, Northeast (MABE). Currently, she is the Co-Founder and Program Director at Nuestro Mundo Public Charter School. Katie is passionate about the key outcome of a strong, innovative dual language program: empowering multilingual and multicultural learners to understand their importance as global citizens.

 

Q&A

 

What’s your favorite outdoor place in Rhode Island, and why? 

The gardens at Nuestro Mundo! The school, located on the South Side of Providence, has built raised garden beds across the street in a vacant lot diagonal from the school, and on our roof top garden of the new kindergarten building. I love seeing the students work in the gardens and seeing how engaged they are in the process. Come visit! 

 

How did you get involved in the environmental field?

Through a passion for authentic education and taking care of nature and the health of local communities.

 

When/how did you first get involved with RIEEA? 

When I started looking to start an independent charter school in Rhode Island in 2020, they were the first group I felt supported by – RIEEA believed in the mission of the school, understood the work involved, and took the time to introduce us to additional partners. They are truly dedicated to community involvement and connections to support the environment.

 

Why did you become a RIEEA board member? 

I am inspired by the organization and the work they do. They are a close group of super interesting people with a variety of skills that support RI’s dedication to the environment and creating authentic opportunities for student learning and real world success. I look forward to serving on the RIEEA board so we can close the opportunity gap for students in the state through environmental education.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. 
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