A career spent teaching Spanish language and culture on both sides of the Atlantic, for over 35 years.
Jo studied Spanish language and literature at Trinity College, then earned a master's degree through a joint program with Middlebury and the University of Córdoba. With over 35 years of teaching experience, she has served as a professor at the University of Rhode Island, taught in elementary and middle schools throughout New England, and worked at several of Madrid's leading language academies and companies, specializing in executive language training, immersion courses, and bilingual education. Her teaching reflects the rigor of a Little Ivy education and years at the university level.
Jo oversees every program at NESA, working alongside a small team of teachers she trained personally.
Jo Smith has spent over forty years in Spain, first studying and teaching, and eventually meeting her husband in Spain and raising her family in Madrid. She splits her time between Madrid, Marbella, and New England, where she's also taught as a professor at the University of Rhode Island and at elementary and middle schools throughout the region.
After years teaching at language academies in Madrid, she started NESA to bring that same personal, high-level instruction to students in New England.
To meet every student where they are, and tailor every lesson to get them further. Real fluency comes from real immersion, not just in the language, but in the culture and rhythm of daily life in Spain. Great teaching lights something in a student that keeps them learning long after class ends.
Six levels, each with clear goals and checkpoints.
No more than six students in any class.
Lessons cover regional dialects, idioms, and daily life in Spain.
“I started NESA to teach Spanish the way I always wished I'd learned it.”
Jo Smith, Founder & Head TeacherWe'll talk about your goals and find where to begin.
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