Latino Leaders

Leading Early Childhood Education with Liteove Rodriguez-Tighe

Pablo Muñoz Episode 34

Join host Pablo Muñoz for a delightful conversation with his featured guest — Liteove Rodriguez-Tighe.

Lita is an educational consultant specializing in early childhood education.  She was the director of early childhood education for the Passaic Public Schools in New Jersey.  Lita successfully led a preschool program whose classrooms are featured on the New Jersey Department of Education website, and she developed and implemented a systematic approach to support multilingual learners in the preschool settings.

1:03 - Introduction
1:58 - My Leadership Story
32:36 - Early Childhood Education
37:54 - Educational Leadership
43:11 - Leading Buy-In
49:17 - COVID-19
53:33 - Family Engagement
57:36 - Teamwork
1:02:48 - Guiding Principles

Liteove Rodriguez-Tighe is a first-generation Cuban-American, born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where her family settled after leaving Cuba in the late 1960s.  As the youngest of three, with siblings significantly older than her and born in Cuba, she grew up in a bilingual household.  Her father, who was educated and bilingual, worked long hours, and her mother, who had only limited schooling and spoke no English, struggled to engage with Lita's school due to language barriers.  Despite these challenges, Lita developed a strong love for learning, often choosing books and notebooks over toys.

Lita started as a preschool teacher in a private provider setting and later taught in the Elizabeth Public Schools in New Jersey.  In 2004, she became a vice principal, and by 2007, she was promoted to principal of a dual language preschool program.  Lita eventually accepted a position in Passaic, New Jersey, where she concluded her career as the director of early childhood education.  Throughout her career, Lita has been dedicated to supporting multilingual learners, fostering family engagement, and building strong, collaborative teams.

LinkedIn:  linkedin.com/in/liteove-rodriguez-tighe-825736129

Email:  liteovertighe@gmail.com


Latino Leaders publishes new episodes weekly on Mondays.

Latino Leaders podcast is a production of Muñoz & Company, an educational and leadership consulting organization.

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