'I want to change lives': Pinay in Australia launches ‘Teach to Learn’ for Philippine teachers and students

Through ‘Teach to Learn,’ she unites teachers from Australia and the Philippines to share knowledge, culture, and inspiration, creating meaningful change in education.

'I want to change lives': Filipino-Australian Cindy Valdez, launches ‘Teach to Learn’ to transform education in the Philippines. Credit: Cindy Valdez Credit: Margaret Albia/Margaret Albia

Key Points

• Cindy Valdez is a Filipino-Australian and an EAL/D (English as an Additional Language or Dialect) Education Leader at the New South Wales Department of Education, and she currently serves as a Director of the Primary English Teaching Association Australia. In 2009–2010, as a teacher of refugees from South Africa, Valdez was deeply shaped by their experiences and stories, which influenced her more than two decades of service in education.
• She launched ‘Teach to Learn,’ an educational and cultural exchange program that connects Filipino and Australian teachers for meaningful and transformative learning experiences — an adventure with purpose aimed at raising the quality of education and providing long-term inspiration to teachers and students.
• According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (2024), 90% of Filipinos aged five and above can read, write, and count. Basic literacy has risen to 93.1%, yet functional literacy — the ability to understand more complex texts — drops to 70.8%.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

'I want to change lives': Pinay in Australia launches ‘Teach to Learn’ for Philippine teachers and students

SBS Filipino

10:15Filipino

For over three decades in Australia, Cindy Valdez, a Filipino-Australian and EAL/D (English as an Additional Language or Dialect) Education Leader at the New South Wales Department of Education, has remained steadfast in her mission to contribute to education in the Philippines.

Through her program Teach to Learn, she brings together Filipino and Australian teachers to share knowledge, culture, and inspiration for the benefit of Filipino teachers and young learners.

With all her heart, she champions the cause of providing quality education by empowering teachers — knowing that their growth will ripple out to transform the lives of countless students.

'I want to change lives': Filipino-Australian Cindy Valdez launches ‘Teach to Learn’ to transform education in the Philippines. Credit: Margaret Albia/Margaret Albia

For Valdez, teaching is both a vocation and a mission of the heart, for every teacher she helps becomes a pathway to transforming thousands of lives.

It brings me so much joy to wake up each day and help a teacher grow, knowing that even the smallest change in their practice can transform countless students’ lives for generations.

Cindy Valdez, EAL/D Education Leader NSW Department of Education/Director for Primary English Teaching Association Australia

She currently serves as a Director of the Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA), a national body supporting primary teachers in advancing English literacy, reading, and writing skills.

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