cairEDucation was founded by Farah Assiraj to shift harmful structures & policies by creating an collective framework and organizational model in which culture, access, inclusion, race, equity, and diversity are key decision-making indicators across systems, organizations, and businesses.
cairEDucation provides consulting services to include strategic coaching, advising, and professional development for educational schools, districts, nonprofits, and for-profit businesses. Leveraging data analysis, we identify systemic inequities and structural barriers within programs, initiatives, or departments through an initial self-assessment process to design a comprehensive range of recommended services with goals and metrics.
Our Services
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Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Data for All Learners
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Targeted professional learning
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Curriculum design
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High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) Review
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Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
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Data inquiry
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Multilingual Learners
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Students with Disabilities
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Multilingual Learners with Disabilities
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Sustaining Practitioners and Collective Communities
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Conflict resolution and mediation
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Healing centered engagement
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Social-emotional learning, mental health, and behavioral health continuum
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Adult care and collective healing
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Belonging and restorative circles
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Family and community partnerships
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Developing Strategic, Equitable Structures and Organizations
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Program Reviews, Equity Audits and Instructional Walkthroughs
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Strategic planning
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Teaming, collaboration, and organizational development
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Equity audits
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Program evaluation
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Culturally and linguistically affirming practices continuum
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Contributing author for Benchmark Education National Advance English Language Arts K-6, ELD materials and leveled readers
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English Learner Success Forum Advisory Board member on high quality instructional materials and equity
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National trainer, speaker & facilitator on literacy, multilingual learners, students with disabilities, MTSS & DEIB
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Founder of non-profit Peregrinum Nonprofit; Schooling Justice & #IAM series on racism, identity, community & youth organizing
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Awarded Distinguished Fulbright Award in Teaching, Salzburg Fellowship, CPLAN English Learner Advocate Award, MLK Living Legends Award amongst others
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Trained and certified in restorative justice, social justice mediation, courageous conversations, healing-centered engagement and Kingian Nonviolence
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Consultant with leading organizations and districts across the country
Farah Assiraj is a national leader in race, equity, literacy and immigrant education. She has supported districts and national organizations in strategic planning; curriculum and instruction; Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS); equitable literacy; multilingual and multicultural education; special education; restorative justice; behavioral and social-emotional supports; student services and student success teams; data inquiry cycles; and targeted professional learning on a variety of educational, family and community topics. Farah has served in several leadership roles, most recently as the Chief of Teaching and Learning for the Council of the Great City Schools, serving 78 of nation's largest urban districts with +7.8 million students; as the Deputy Chief Academic Officer for the Boston Public Schools, serving +50K students; as the Assistant Superintendent of Multilingual and Multicultural Office for the Boston Public Schools, serving +30K students; as the Upper School Leader of the Boston Renaissance School, serving +900 students; as the Director of Organizing with the Boston Teachers Union; and in other various leadership roles in the Boston Public Schools. Farah is a proud former teacher in Special Education, Reading, English Language Arts, English as a Second Language, Students with Interrupted Education and Newcomers, spanning K-12 grades.
Farah’s personal schooling experience and professional trajectory have culminated in a deep understanding of systemic inequities and necessary conditions required for all students to thrive, especially those with other languages as assets, who have varying abilities that must be attended to and/or have been historically marginalized. Farah is the founder of Peregrinum nonprofit community organization, cairEDucation consulting company, Schooling Justice Initiative and co-founder of many other coalitions focused on education, family and community, equity and belonging.
As a recipient of the Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching, Farah's research on mother tongue languages' usage underscores the effectiveness of code-switching and its positive correlation with language and literacy in bilingual classrooms. Farah holds a B.A. in Sociology with Summa Cum Laude from the University of North Florida, a M.A.T. in ESL from Simmons University, and is a doctoral candidate at Harvard University.
restorative circles
curriculum design
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racial literacy
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testimonialS
Sharon Stewart,
ACCEPT Collaborative
"Farah was our keynote speaker (New Special Education Directors across Massachusetts) and provided us with not only thought-provoking content, but also with a variety of application activities….Farah was very well prepared, and invited participants to engage and delve into the dilemmas they face in establishing the vision and practices for educating the most vulnerable learners within their school communities….Our directors ended the seminar with a renewed energy and passion about the importance of our work as educational leaders and the strength and courage to be the voice for the vulnerable and marginalized populations within our school communities. Our directors left with new strategies and tools to consider and the affirmation that their efforts are critical to the success of so many students and important to their families and the staff!"
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Professional Learning
Digging and Diving Deeper
into Learning