Linda M. Paragone
Mrs.
Paragone received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from Brooklyn College of
the City University of New York, a Master of Science degree in Teaching English
as a Second Language from Queens College of the City University of New York and
a Certificate in Administration and
Educational Leadership from the University of Alabama. Although Mrs. Paragone’s teaching career
didn’t begin until the completion of the master’s degree, Mrs. Paragone held
leadership roles while still in college and was a civic association officer for
several years. Mrs. Paragone worked as a bilingual social worker in the foster
care system before beginning a family. The completion of the master’s degree
occurred while the children were young and Mrs. Paragone became president of
the PTA and was a 4-H leader before beginning to teach.
Mrs. Paragone’s teaching career spanned 30 years,
beginning with teaching English as a Second Language for four years and ending
with teaching high school Spanish for 26 years. Mrs. Paragone taught in an
International Baccalaureate program and all the students of Spanish scored very
well on their exams.
Mrs. Paragone’s leadership roles in the profession
blossomed while fully employed as a teacher. Offering professional development
for language teachers and through over 35 presentations and workshops at
district, state and southeast regional conferences Mrs. Paragone was
well-recognized in the profession. As the founder of a residential language
immersion program for high school students in Alabama and the Executive
Director of the Alabama Association of Foreign Language Teachers, Mrs. Paragone
received numerous state and regional awards and received the Alabama World
Languages Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
Although Mrs. Paragone has retired from full or part
time employment as a language teacher, through volunteer tutoring and teaching
a weekly arts and crafts class to elementary school aged children, Mrs.
Paragone’s involvement with children continues.