Faces of D47: “I’m from Pakistan but grew up in Dubai with my family. I moved to America 17 years ago after receiving my Bachelor's and Master's in English. I have two daughters, both in high school, and when they started kindergarten, I wanted to find a job close to them. I began as a lunch supervisor at Indian Prairie, thinking it would just be for a few years, but I loved being in the school so much that I became a paraprofessional. From there, I started exploring how to become a teacher. I earned my Master’s in English Language Learners and now work as an ELL teacher at Indian Prairie.” “Being bilingual and having experienced what it’s like to move to a new country, I understand what many of our multilingual families go through. I know how it feels when everything—from the education system to the language—is unfamiliar. I never went to school here, so I had to learn how everything worked while adapting to a new culture. That experience helps me connect deeply with my students and their families. I know the challenges they face, and I want them to know they’re not alone.” “I speak Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, a bit of Arabic, and English, and I work with students from all over the world. Right now, our school serves nearly 90 multilingual learners who speak about 9 different languages. We pull students out or push into classrooms to help them with vocabulary and cultural understanding. Even simple words can mean different things across cultures, so helping students make those connections is important.” “My favorite part of this job is building relationships. I love working with people, not machines. I’m a very compassionate and empathetic person, and seeing a smile or hearing feedback that I’ve made a difference reminds me why I do this. I never thought I’d be a teacher, but now I know this is where I’m meant to be.” “Outside of teaching, I lead sewing club and hope to start a henna club soon. Henna is something I learned from my mom and carried with me from Dubai—it’s a piece of my culture I love sharing. Every day I feel grateful to do something meaningful and to help families feel at home in a new place.” - Fouzia Rana, ELL Teacher, Indian Prairie
