Currently a Professor of Bilingual Education, immediate past Dean of the College of Education at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), and current Special Advisor to the Vice President for Research, has dedicated her entire professional career to enhancing educational opportunities for Spanish-speaking students in the United States. She is a leading scholar, author and an advocate on issues of equity and excellence for culturally and linguistically diverse children and families. Her rich experience and knowledge about effective educational reform and the roles of culture and language in school achievement have been key vehicles for affecting positive change in school districts across the U.S. and in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Her extensive publication record includes a focus on literacy and biliteracy for Spanish speaking children, school-university partnerships, and school-community collaboration with a focus on linguistically and culturally diverse populations. She has pioneered the development of instructional materials for Spanish speaking students in the U.S. As an author for Macmillan-McGraw-Hill, Mc-Graw Hil, Hampton-Brown and National Geographic Publishing Companies, she has developed instructional materials featuring authentic literature from well-known authors of Spanish children’s literature used by school districts throughout the United States. |