Joanna Puello
Lover of travel and diverse cultures, bilingual undercover gringa, healthy diabetic, athlete, faith led, instructional designer, non-traditional teacher, married to a Dominican songwriter/singer and Spanish teacher, mama of the two most amazing kids in the world, nonprofit entrepreneur, and founder of the #WorldUpsideDown teacher movement.
Some teachers travel a straight path. Mine is a windy one.
This is my story about how the World Upside Down teacher movement got started
and why I’d love for you to be a part of it!
Our journeys vary, but I think we have something in common.
Elementary Music Teacher
You know that when you teach music you change the world. You walk into class with high hopes. Then you realize you have no curriculum and no budget.
Homeschool Parent
You know how important music is for your child’s education. But you’re not a musician. Private lessons are expensive, and you’re not sure where to start.
Elementary Classroom Teacher
You believe that music should be a core subject, but there is no music teacher in your school. You’re expected to teach music even though you have no training.
We understand the power of music.
Music represents our culture and tells our story. We grieve with music, overcome with music, and celebrate with music. Music forms and transforms our lives. Here is what music looks like for my family.
Jairo is a sing, song-writer, and guitar player. He has produced seven albums and loves to integrate music into his high school Spanish classes.
Joanna [that’s me] plays piano and violin and sings alto. She’s given private lessons, played in weddings, and directed a choir.
Megan leads worship at church and is a super talented vocalist. She hasn’t picked up an instrument yet but has a killer Spotify playlist.
Adriel led worship during high school. He plays piano and started song-writing recently. He’s majoring in business but hopes to start producing his first song soon. Think Ed Sheeran meets John Legend.
My teacher story timeline
[icon_timeline timeline_style=”jstime” tl_animation=”tl-animation-shadow”][icon_timeline_sep time_sep_title=”Career Beginnings”][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Educational Script Writer” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]Wrote puppet-teacher scripts for K-5 video curriculum at my university.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Copy Writer” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]Wrote ads for a local radio station in South Carolina.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Music Teacher” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]Gave private piano and violin lessons.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Theater Director” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]Directed The Sound of Music while teaching English, Geography, and International Studies in the Dominican Republic.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Nonprofit Co-Director” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]Created training curriculum for leaders and conducted annual events for Awana Clubs International in the Dominican Republic.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_sep time_sep_title=”Pivotal Career Decision”][icon_timeline_feat time_title=”Communications Liaison for U.S. Embassy” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]The U.S. Embassy offered me a job working for the U.S. Ambassador in the Dominican Republic. For the first time, I got to ask myself…If you could do anything in your life, what would you do? The answer? Arts education! I didn’t take the job.[/icon_timeline_feat][icon_timeline_sep time_sep_title=”In Pursuit of a Dream”][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Marketing Manager” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]Managed web designers, sales vendors, and wrote copy for a self-publishing boutique.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Masters Degree in Instructional Design” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]For my Action Research Project at Full Sail University, I tested video curriculum as a solution to making arts education accessible and affordable around the globe.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Community Manager” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]Managed content marketing campaign for Full Sail University.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”University Instructor” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]Launched first mobile certificate program in ESL at Full Sail University.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_sep time_sep_title=”Launching a Nonprofit”][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Founder of World Upside Down” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]World Upside Down incorporated on March 21, 2013. All titles aside…until we are sustainable, I’m 🙋🏻♀️ Head Volunteer.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Spanish Teacher” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]Taught Spanish 2 for Florida Virtual School.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”English as a Second Language” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]I’ve taught ESL to students ages 6-adult over a span of 20 years.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Coding Instructor & Curriculum Designer” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]I taught block coding on Scratch to students ages 5-13 with my son Adriel.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_sep time_sep_title=”The World Upside Down Teacher Movement”][icon_timeline_item time_title=”World Upside Down Community Director” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]In 2020 I partnered with SteveSongs to start creating elementary music curriculum. Teachers can join our membership to get monthly releases of new curriculum…all for free.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”Senior Instructional Designer” title_font_style=”font-weight:bold;” title_font_size=”desktop:18px;” desc_font_size=”desktop:18px;”]I work for PowerTrain, creating eLearning training for our military personnel.[/icon_timeline_item][/icon_timeline]
Let’s turn the World Upside Down together.
My windy teacher path has finally brought me to where I am today. I’ve met hundreds of arts educators who teach the arts to change the world. We all agree that arts education is or should be…
🙋🏻♀️ First, we believe that all students on planet earth should have access to arts education—no matter how rich or how poor, no matter the language, the ethnicity, or country.
🙋🏽♂️ Second, we believe that arts education is one of the best tools we can use life to the minds and hearts of our students—to give them a hope and a future.
🙋🏿♀️ Third, we believe that teaching resources should be amazing and affordable.
If you agree, I would love for you to join our World Upside Down teacher community today.