Adrienne Brandenburg studied Spanish and Microbiology at Colorado State University and received her degree in 2005. She returned to CSU and completed her Masters in Spanish and a second Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language in 2009. After teaching high school Spanish in the Twin Cities for a few years, she returned to Fort Collins, Colorado where she has been teaching Spanish and Spanish for Heritage Speakers classes at Poudre High School since 2012. She started the heritage speaker program at Poudre High School, writing curriculum for the 9th and 10th grade courses. Mary Beth Johnson, one of her closest friends from graduate school at CSU, came to Poudre High School in 2014 and the following year developed the curriculum for the 11th grade course. The heritage program at Poudre High School now consists of four levels (grades 9-12) and six sections and allows students to earn college credit for their Spanish course as early as the 9th grade.
Adrienne has published three essays in the second edition of “Practical Advice for Teachers of Heritage Learners of Spanish: Essays by Classroom Teachers” in 2018. Her store on Teachers Pay Teachers (Teach Like You Love It) offers a variety of resources for Spanish for Heritage Speakers classes.
Adrienne has co-presented various workshops and presentations with Mary Beth, including:
- Tips for Working with Spanish Heritage Learners, AATSP Workshop, CU Denver, May 2016 (in collaboration with Maite Correa)
- Practical Advice for Reaching Spanish Heritage Learners, CCFLT Loveland, February 2017 and February 2018
- The Nuts and Bolts of Designing a Secondary Spanish Heritage Speaker Curriculum, CCFLT Loveland, February 2018
- Spanish Literacy and the Lucy Calkins Writing Workshop, May 2018
She enjoys spending time with her husband and two toddler boys.
Adventures in Heritage Teaching 