The Educational System and the Social Integration of Foreign-Born Children

Melissa Aviles-Ramos

Chancellor, New York City Public Schools

Melissa Aviles Ramos is chancellor of New York City Public Schools (NYCPS), the largest school system in the nation. She was formerly the deputy chancellor of family and community engagement and external affairs, as well as the chief of staff to former Chancellor David C. Banks. In those roles, she oversaw innovative family engagement programs such as NYC Literacy Hubs and our Family Literacy Ambassadors; she also launched and led Project Open Arms, an unprecedented effort to welcome, enroll, and support 45,000-plus of our newest New Yorkers.

As the leader of NYCPS, Chancellor Aviles-Ramos will ensure consistent and thorough implementation of key initiatives, from NYC Reads and NYC Solves to reimagined Student Pathways. She believes deeply that our schools must provide every student with a solid foundation in reading and math, while preparing them for well-paying jobs.

Additionally, Chancellor Aviles-Ramos plans to prioritize physical safety and emotional wellness, enhanced professional development for teachers, and in-depth family and community engagement.

Chancellor Aviles-Ramos began her career as an English teacher and NYC Teaching Fellow at Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx. She later served as principal at Schuylerville Prep and then became the acting superintendent to Bronx HS District 8, 10 and 11. Chancellor Aviles-Ramos earned her bachelor’s degree from Fordham University, master of arts in English education from the City College of New York, and advanced certificates in school and district leadership from College of Saint Rose. She is a native New Yorker, a Latina, and a proud NYCPS parent.

Gladys I. Cruz

District Superintendent, Questar III BOCES

Over a 40-year span, Dr. Gladys I. Cruz has established a distinguished career in education as a teacher and leader at the local, regional, state, and national levels.

As district superintendent for Questar III Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), Cruz serves a dual role—acting as the representative of the state commissioner of education and chief executive officer of the Questar III Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). As the commissioner’s representative in Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene counties, Cruz is responsible for providing strong leadership within the supervisory district and bringing local school district concerns to the attention of state leaders. As CEO of the BOCES, she leads the organization in the development, implementation and provision of programs and services provided at the request of the component districts and serving more than 650 districts across New York State. Questar III directly educates more than 1,600 students in a wide range of programs, including pre-K, special education, career and technical education (CTE), and adult education. Since joining Questar III in 1998, Cruz has served in several leadership positions including chief operating officer/deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent, director of school improvement, and BETAC specialist. During her tenure she has expanded Questar III’s School Improvement services, initiatives, and relationships with staff development networks and the New York State Education Department.

Cruz is past president of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, the nation’s premier organization representing the more than 13,000 public school superintendents nationwide. She also served as a commissioner of AASA’s Learning 2025 Network: A National Commission on Student Centered-Equity-Focused Education. She serves as a lead teacher of the AASA Aspiring Superintendents Academy® for Latino and Latina Leaders and a mentor in the AASA National Superintendent Certification Program®. She is also a member of the New York State Council of School Superintendents.

Cruz began her career as a teacher in Puerto Rico and her education experience ranges from K-12 schools to universities in New York State and Puerto Rico. In addition, she worked briefly as director of curriculum services for the New York State Education Department.

Cruz holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction and a master’s degree in curriculum development and instructional technology from the State University of New York at Albany. In addition, she holds a master’s degree in bilingual education and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and English from La Universidad del Turabo in Puerto Rico.

Corinne Kentor

Manager of Research and Policy, Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education

Dr. Corinne Kentor is the manager of research and policy at the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and a 2023 American Council of Learned Societies Leading Edge Fellow. Corinne is a social scientist with interdisciplinary expertise in migration, family, and higher education. Her research has been recognized with awards from the National Academy of Education, the Spencer Foundation, the Collaborative to Advance Equity through Research, and the National Science Foundation, among others. Before joining the Presidents’ Alliance, Corinne served as a research fellow at the City University of New York Office of Applied Research, Evaluation & Data Analytics, where she studied students’ transitions from high school to college and from college to the workforce. Corinne earned her PhD from Teachers College, Columbia University and her BA from Yale University.

Rachel Stead

Interim Director of ENL and Refugee Students, City School District of Albany

Rachel Stead is currently the interim director of ENL and refugee students in the City School District of Albany. She is also the founding principal of the Albany International Academy, which began in 2017 as an alternative, transitional program for newcomer students in grades 6-12. In 2021, the school was expanded to include elementary newcomer programming as well as dual language programming in grades preK-5. Stead has nearly three decades of experience in education in rural, suburban, and urban settings. Prior to her work in Albany, she was an academic administrator for ENL and world languages in the Shenendehowa Central School District as well as the director of the Capital Region Bilingual Education Resource Network. Before becoming an administrator, she taught English as a New Language and Spanish. She holds an MS in TESOL and has completed work toward her PhD in curriculum and instruction at the University at Albany.

Adriana R. Mintarsih

Immigrant Integration Fellow, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy

Adriana R. Mintarsih is a Fulbright scholar from Indonesia and a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University at Albany. During the spring 2025 semester, she will serve as a Women and Public Policy Fellow at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University at Albany. Her research primarily focuses on gender, family, and migration, topics on which she has authored several scholarly articles. Her dissertation examines the agency and emotional experiences of Indonesian young adults who remain behind when their parents migrate for informal work either within Indonesia or abroad.

Guillermo Martinez

Deputy Director & Intergovernmental Liaison, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy

Guillermo Martinez is the deputy director and intergovernmental liaison for the Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy. He brings over 20 years of significant leadership, management, and communications experience in both the nonprofit and government sectors. During his time in the New York State Legislature, he served as the director of policy development for the New York State Assembly Task Force on New Americans and legislative and communications director for the New York State Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, having served in that role as the longest tenured staffer in the organizations 35-year history. In those capacities, he helped research, draft, and negotiate over 200 pieces of legislation that are now state law, including programs such as the SUNY Hispanic Leadership Institute, the SUNY Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, the codifying of the Office of New Americans, the Immigration Services Fraud Prevention Act, the Idle-Free School Zone Act, Geriatric Mental Health Act, the Undocumented Immigrant In-State-Tuition Act, the School Energy Efficiency Collaborative Act, the establishing of the New York Latino Research and Resources Network (NYLARNet), and dozens of other laws, including consumer protection measures addressing online privacy, disaster preparedness, protecting children with disabilities, and the elderly. Prior to his time in the legislature, Martinez served as director of communications and legislative affairs for the Council of Community Services of New York State and worked at SUNY Oneonta’s migrant education program (ESCORT) assisting migrant farmworkers with the educational needs of their children in a region covering 23 states.

Dina Refki

Executive Director, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy

Dina Refki is the director of the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society (CWGCS) at the University at Albany. Refki studies and researches the interplay of gender with institutional structures in the US and international context. She applies gender mainstreaming and budgeting analysis from transnational perspectives. Prior to assuming leadership at CWGCS in 2009, she held different positions at the Center, including as director of the Immigrant Women & State Policy Program, which facilitated interagency collaboration, promoted dialogues with civil society and immigrant women at the state level, and worked to identify and address barriers to the integration of immigrant women in the social, economic, and political fabric of local communities. Refki studies the challenges of migration, the barriers facing immigrant women and their families, and the structural changes needed to better respond to the needs of immigrant women.