Student Support Services

Cristina Quintana, M. Ed.

Learning Specialist

The job of a Learning Specialist is to provide individualized academic support to students who have been diagnosed with learning or physical exceptionalities. I encourage students to work toward academic success and help them develop self-advocacy and coping skills. In the past, this job meant working in an office and occasionally meeting with students and parents. However, with the development of the new Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CEI), alongside the school leadership’s vision of the future, my role has evolved into something new and exciting.

In addition to seventeen years of teaching experience in Hillsborough County and a master’s degree in educational leadership, my internal drive to improve and gain knowledge has gifted me with many unique experiences. I’ve taught for Hillsborough Community College, worked with the AVID program, scored essays for College Board, tutored for SAT and ACT, trained teachers at USF, and traveled around the world with students through EF Tours. My passion for education has even led me to work with legislative policy for the state of Florida through my involvement in Delta Kappa Gamma, an international society for key women educators.

I am a resource that every teacher at CCC can turn to for lesson planning ideas, co-teaching opportunities, and small group training. In the freshmen ‘Approaches to Learning’ courses, I co-teach with Ms. O’Brien. We are working on lessons that will help the freshmen throughout high school: note-taking strategies, study skills, becoming intrinsically motivated, and how to deal with stress in healthy, productive ways.

My educational philosophy is that steady improvement through continuous practice is the key to success. My goal is for each student to become a critical thinker, a thoughtful and powerful writer, and a dynamic class participant who will be fully prepared for life beyond high school.

I have big plans for the CEI, including an after school school peer tutoring program, interactive writer’s workshops, adding a 3D printing station, and more! As we look to the future and prepare students for careers and jobs that have yet to be invented, I hope to play an integral role in their learning and achievement.

Keep an eye on the CEI-the best is yet to come!

CLICK HERE – New Students Transitioning Students with Special Learning Needs

CLICK HERE – Current Students Requesting Student Support Services