Equity Bilingualism & Biliteracy

MA Graduate Silvia Ortiz is a passionate advocate for rural, bilingual learners

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 21:50:38 +0000

MA Graduate Silvia Ortiz is a passionate advocate for rural, bilingual learners Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/24/2024 - 15:50

As a proud bilingual educator, Silvia Ortiz exemplifies excellence in teaching, leadership and advocacy for bilingual learners at her school and in her small rural district. Ortiz is a passionate advocate for her mostly Latinx bilingual students as an English Language Development Teacher at Hudson Elementary School in Weld RE-3 School District.

As a member of the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education’s Northeast Teacher Cohort, Otriz was able to earn her Master’s Equity Bilingualism and Biliteracy from the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� School of Education by attending courses close to home in Brighton and alongside 20 peer educators across three districts in the rural northeast region of Colorado.

Respected by her colleagues and revered in her community, Ortiz is also a strong bilingual writer and thinker. She completed her Teacher Inquiry Project, the culminating project and report for her master’s program, bilingually written in Spanish and English where she explored bilingual identities of her young Latinx students through linguistically and culturally responsive children’s literature.

For her work as an exemplary educator and graduate student, Ortiz has been selected the 2024 Outstanding Graduate of the Master’s in Equity, Bilingualism and Biliteracy Program by the faculty in the BUENO Center. However, she has been a member of BUENO Center community since she participated first in the BUENO Career Ladder program in 2005, a partnership between ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� and Aims Community College, on her pathway to becoming a teacher. Engaging in the master’s program helped bring Ortiz’s career, education, and connections with ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� full circle.

In her own words

Please tell us a bit about yourself

My journey to ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� is a unique one. I reside in the Brighton area and teach in a small town in Northeastern Colorado. During my undergraduate program, I had the privilege of participating in the BUENO program through the Career Ladder Program. This experience not only deepened my passion for educational equity but also paved the way for my decision to pursue my master’s degree through the BUENO program at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��. The opportunity to return to BUENO now as a graduate student was a clear sign that this was the right path for me."

What is one of the most significant lessons from your time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� that you’ll carry with you into the next chapter?

I have always considered myself a lifelong learner, and my time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� has satiated my desire to explore new learning and revive my passion for equity for bilingual learners. The most profound and significant lesson I take away from my time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� is this: all of our students come to us with various gifts and talents. It is up to us, educators, to explore such gifts and talents and leverage them to inspire and nurture independent learners and thinkers. By disrupting injustices created by systemic oppression we give our students the opportunities to thrive."

What does graduating from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� represent for you and/or your community?

Graduating from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� as a BUENO Center master’s student is a momentous achievement. ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� has always been at the forefront of educational equity and advocacy for bilingual students and communities. As a Latina, this accomplishment holds a special place in my heart. It is a testament to my dedication and the support I have received from my community. This honor will undoubtedly enrich my work with my brilliant bilingual students."

What is your best piece of advice for incoming students?

I believe that one’s most remarkable ability is the ability to use metacognition. The ability to evaluate, monitor, and apply new teachings to our understanding is essential. A student with the caliber of being a critical thinker and having metacognitive awareness will find success in their endeavors."

What are your next steps after graduation?

As a lifelong learner, I have enjoyed my time as a student. Now is the time to apply all of what I've learned. My graduate program was robust and rich, with mastery in the field of educational equity. Now is my time to discern how best to apply my newfound knowledge in my specific role. Furthermore, I would like to inspire other educators through my example and leadership."

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Meet Kim Strong, next generation public scholar devoted to justice for emerging bilinguals

Anonymous — Mon, 08 May 2023 05:05:44 +0000

Meet Kim Strong, next generation public scholar devoted to justice for emerging bilinguals Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 05/07/2023 - 23:05

Kim Strong has dedicated her work to spreading the love and kindness her supportive community of immigrant and bilingual family members and friends have afforded her.

“As the parent of an ‘English learner’ child, partner to a Spanish-speaking immigrant, and tía/cuñada/prima/comadre to wonderful in-laws and friends, my work is in large part inspired by my family and those I love,” she said. “It's my admittedly nerdy way to return a tiny fraction of the love and care they have shown me—how could I feel anything but passionate about what I do?”

Strong came to the Equity, Bilingualism and Biliteracy doctoral program after working for government programs designed to support — but more often failing to fully see or serve— Spanish-speaking families. She wanted to learn more about these challenges to make change for the communities she cares about.

Notoriously humble, Strong has been named the 2023 Outstanding Graduate award for Community Engagement and Public Scholarship for her tenacious and often behind-the-scenes work with bilingual educators and families.

Strong’s advisor, Kathy Escamilla, points to her proficiency in Spanish and English an asset for her community engagement work, and the many years Strong spent learning Spanish as a second language is a testament of her commitment to this work.

Escamilla, a ground-breaking scholar in bilingual education, and ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� BUENO Center for Multicultural Education have had a long-standing partnership with the Denver-based Congress for Hispanic Educators (CHE). Made up current and retired educators, CHE has advocated for educational equity for emerging bilingual learners for over 50 years. Strong jumped at the opportunity to support this partnership with Escamilla, and while many doctoral students have engaged with Escamilla and this partnership in the past, none have shown her level of committment in time, energy, or passion, Escamilla said.

Strong has earned the trust and respect of the CHE’s membership and leadership, and she was hand-picked by a long-time CHE leader to document the CHE-BUENO Center’s history and legacy in Colorado as an important chapter in the forthcoming book, “¡Qué BUENO! The History and Legacy of the BUENO Center.”

As an additional exampl of her impact, Escamilla and Strong were tapped to conduct a materials review after teachers in the Denver Public Schools expressed dissatisfaction and concern that their Spanish-language materials were not equivalent to the English materials in elementary schools. Strong expertly led this effort, soliciting help from a group of doctoral students and establishing at least two material reviewers who were bilingual and had expertise in teaching for each content area. The project’s resulting report and rubrics are currently used by the district to assess any newly adopted materials for cross-language equivalence.

When Strong and peers are celebrated at graduation, she will be Escamilla’s final doctoral advisee. The incoming generation of educational equity leaders have indeed benefited from the field's forebearers, like Escamilla, and also the future is in good hands with scholars like Strong, who is quietly, doggedly committed to equity and justice and willing to take on challenges in education in the name of change and justice.

“Kim is a person who has talent, intelligence, a good work ethic and organization,” Escamilla said. “For being so early in her career, she is an accomplished scholar, is a rigorous and caring teacher educator, and has a deep commitment to the development of bilingualism, social justice, and community involvement.”

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Meet Molly Hamm-Rodríguez, breaking new ground in international education

Anonymous — Tue, 02 May 2023 20:55:05 +0000

Meet Molly Hamm-Rodríguez, breaking new ground in international education Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/02/2023 - 14:55

Growing up in Kansas and venturing out for vacations only as far as the family car would reach, Molly Hamm-Rodríguez never dreamed she would find her calling in international education and the Dominican Republic.

Now, she is graduating with her doctorate in equity, bilingualism and biliteracy from the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� School of Education, and her groundbreaking research in the Dominican Republic has led to her work being honored with the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� School of Education’s 2023 Outstanding Dissertation Award.

As a master’s student at Teachers College at Columbia University, Hamm-Rodríguez worked with a nonprofit organization in the Dominican Republic, where she was hired after graduation to support hundreds of young people through a youth workforce development program. There, she discovered the program’s international sponsors, including the U.S. government, imagined a linear path between education, employment, and economic mobility in the Caribbean nation, but that was not what she saw working alongside the youth. As someone tasked with grant writing and program assessment, Hamm-Rodríguez was positioned to replicate the existing narrative rather than question it.

“I saw clearly how the local tourism industry constrained the jobs made available to youth and that, contrary to its promises, it could not resolve social inequalities,” she said. “It was undeniable that my own employment in a community where youth and their families struggled to make ends meet was part of the larger problem that I needed to question.

“I completed my dissertation research with these tensions at the forefront, and my work continues to be fueled by a desire to contest and deconstruct these inequities through ongoing collaborations with institutions in the Dominican Republic as well as through teaching, research, and service in my future job at the University of South Florida.”

Hamm-Rodríguez’s dissertation, “Re-Storying Paradise: Language, Imperial Formations of Tourism, and Youth Futures in the Dominican Republic,” focuses on the struggles of Black Dominican and Haitian youth who seek education and employment opportunities amidst the social stratifications generated by tourism in the island nation. Her research, weaving ethnographic methods and youth participatory action research, reveals how youth build solidarity across social difference and find commonalities in their struggles against anti-Blackness.

Hamm-Rodríguez’s innovative scholarship was awarded support of many highly competitive national fellowships and grants, including the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship, the Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant in Linguistics, the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, the Philanthropic Educational Organization Scholar Award, and the Foreign Language Studies Fellowship for Haitian Creole.

Hamm-Rodríguez’s approach to multilingualism, with a focus on the Caribbean, is grounded in sociocultural and critical theories of language and literacy development, and her interdisciplinary scholarship will be influential in the field of educational inquiry and beyond.

One of Hamm-Rodríguez’s award nominators explained: “As an Afro-Dominican member of the academy, I have felt honored to have interacted with Molly, in whom I readily recognized an emerging scholar, and privileged to have been invited to participate on the dissertation committee,” said Almeida Jacqueline Toribio from the University of Texas Austin. “Her dissertation project is critical in situating the research squarely within Dominican institutions, instigating a thorough-going interrogation of the parallel prejudices of racial bias and standard language ideologies, which are perpetuated by the nation state and which prove particularly injurious to Dominican youth.

“I have been especially impressed by Molly’s abiding attentiveness to understanding and centering the lived experiences of minoritized youth and with her attendant dedication to supporting and uplifting these marginalized groups through proposals for programmatic interventions.”

Hamm-Rodríguez’s experience with youth in the Dominican Republic led her to seek a PhD in education to address her questions about education, society, and inequity. Now, she is leaving ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� with a wealth of experiences, the ongoing support from her advisor, Mileidis Gort, and other faculty, and lifelong friendships from her doctoral cohort. However, Hamm-Rodríguez notes, she is graduating with even more questions than she started with—something she considers a good sign as a budding scholar.

“Graduating from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� does not represent an end but rather a beginning to me, as learning and unlearning is a lifelong journey,” she said. “Rather than leaving with a title, I know that I am leaving with new ways of thinking and being that I will continue to use for social change.”

In her own words:

Please tell us a bit about yourself

I was born and raised in Kansas and grew up taking road trips to Colorado in the summers, since my mom grew up here. We rarely took vacations and only to destinations where we could drive--I did not have the chance to fly on an airplane or see the ocean until I was 18. So I never imagined that my future education, work, and personal life would extend as geographically far as it has. I studied secondary education and English literature as an undergraduate at Kansas State University. After student teaching with 8th and 10th graders in Kansas City, I began a master’s program in international and comparative education at Teachers College, Columbia University. I was originally interested in studying bilingual education, but that program focus area was restructuring and I found more faculty support for research on education in Latin America. During the program, I worked with a nonprofit organization in the Dominican Republic and was hired for a full-time role upon graduation. After working there for five years, I became interested in doctoral programs and reached out to ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Ph.D. students a few times before finally deciding to apply. I was initially interested in CU because my parents and twin sister had moved to Colorado and I wanted to live near them, but after having a Zoom conversation with my future advisor, Dr. Mileidis Gort, and meeting my EBB cohort during finalist weekend (Becca Flores, Danny Garzon, and María Ruíz-Martínez) I was even more excited to bring my interest in studying bilingual education full circle."

What is one of the lessons from your time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� that you’ll carry with you into the next chapter?

Meeting my best friend, Astrid Sambolín Morales. We were put in touch even before the program started, had a class together the first semester, and became fast friends. But our friendship deepened through our shared commitments to bring attention to the experiences of children and families displaced from Puerto Rico (Astrid’s home) after Hurricane María in 2017. We collaborated on a meaningful research project in Florida, traveling to both Orlando and Tampa together and creating many memories alongside having really difficult conversations. This experience led to collaborations with four high school teachers who joined us in Colorado for a conference on place and displacement sponsored by the URBAN Network. I have stayed in touch with one of the teachers, whose family is from the Dominican Republic, and met her extended family several times while in the country. Astrid and I talk almost everyday (despite her being in Ohio), sharing life’s ups and downs. There has been no greater gift from my time at CU! Staying connected to our support networks, no matter the distance, makes a world of difference..”

What does graduating from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� represent for you and/or your community?

I started the PhD program because I had a lot of questions about education, society, and inequity, and I wanted to become better about deeply understanding and answering those questions. Well, I’m leaving with even more questions, which I consider to be a good sign that I’m in a better place than when I began. Graduating from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� does not represent an end but rather a beginning to me, as learning and unlearning is a lifelong journey. Rather than leaving with a title, I know that I am leaving with new ways of thinking and being that I will continue to use for social change.”

What is your best piece of advice for incoming students?

Be open to surprises and follow your curiosity. Engage with the complexity of human experience. Seek feedback and be open to critique, give feedback generously. Read outside of your discipline. Do your best not to lose yourself on the journey, and don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. Center what matters to you and you will find your way.”

What continues to drive your passion for your work after graduation?

My passion for the work that I do has many roots, but a significant turning point began more than a decade ago when I supported hundreds of young people in the Dominican Republic through a youth workforce development program. During this experience, I found that international donors, such as the U.S. government, imagined a linear path between education, employment, and economic mobility. Having been hired to write grants and measure program outcomes, I was often positioned to replicate these discourses rather than question them. But this became increasingly more difficult to do. I saw clearly how the local tourism industry constrained the jobs made available to youth and that, contrary to its promises, it could not resolve social inequalities. And it was undeniable that my own employment in a community where youth and their families struggled to make ends meet was part of the larger problem that I needed to question. I completed my dissertation research with these tensions at the forefront, and my work continues to be fueled by a desire to contest and deconstruct these inequities through ongoing collaborations with institutions in the Dominican Republic as well as through teaching, research, and service in my future job at the University of South Florida. In the current political context, it is more important than ever to emphasize how attacks on public education and on racialized communities is not new and to continue educating young people for social justice.”

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Meet Caitlin Fine, using research and service to transform teaching, teacher preparation

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2022 22:57:33 +0000

Meet Caitlin Fine, using research and service to transform teaching, teacher preparation Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/02/2022 - 16:57

Before enrolling at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� as a doctoral student, Caitlin Fine was a science teacher in a dual-language elementary school in Virginia, where she was often frustrated by her district’s narrative that teaching science in Spanish was a “nice bonus” and teachers need to prepare students for English-language multiple-choice state science assessments. She felt too little class time was spent on student engagement with and sensemaking about science phenomena, and she knew something needed to change.

The most important part of my time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� was growing as a scholar along with my fellow cohort-mates. Moving through all of the PhD milestones from attending our first AERA conference through dissertation defenses and navigating the job market has deepened our relationships. I am excited to continue to grow as a scholar with the group of critical friends that I developed during my time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��."

The School of Education and the Equity, Bilingualism, and Biliteracy program faculty’s critical stances and interdisciplinary nature attracted Fine to ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, where she hoped she could influence educational change.

Beyond her own exemplary teaching, Fine has made significant contributions – both with her research and her service – to teaching and teacher preparation more broadly.

As a doctoral student the Equity, Bilingualism, and Biliteracy program with a focus on STEM education, Fine was instrumental in shaping the redesign of science and assessment coursework in elementary teacher education, in supporting alignment in the elementary teacher education program and in redesigning and delivering coursework in culturally/linguistically diverse assessment for the program’s master’s program.

Fine’s contributions to elementary teacher education have gone far beyond the typical participation of a graduate student. In addition to working closely with Melissa Braaten to design and teach the Science Methods course, she served as the course designer and was the first instructor for both Assessment for Bilingual Learners, one of the culturally and linguistically diverse education endorsement courses, and the STEM Module for fourth year students focused on reading and STEM assessment.

At the master’s level, Fine significantly updated and taught Diagnostic Assessment, a required course for the culturally and linguistically diverse education endorsement.

“Caitlin's relentless insistence on asset-based stances and actions when working with minoritized communities, her thoughtful design of pedagogical tools, and her deep understanding of the complex contexts of K-12 schooling make her a powerful teacher educator,” said the faculty nomination committee that selected Fine as one of the 2022 Outstanding Graduates for Teaching.

In her own words

Please tell us a bit about yourself

I am from Virginia. Before coming to CU, I worked as a science teacher in a dual-language elementary school in Arlington, VA for 7 years. In that capacity, I understood my job as both a science teacher and a Spanish language teacher, but I would often get frustrated by the district narrative that teaching science in Spanish was a nice bonus, but we needed to prepare students for English-language multiple-choice state science assessments. I felt that much of my time was spent introducing and practicing vocabulary words in both Spanish and English and little time was spent on actual student engagement with and sensemaking about science phenomena. I chose ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� because of the critical stances of the Equity, Bilingualism, and Biliteracy faculty and the willingness of the STEM Education faculty to work with someone like me whose research interests cross disciplines.”

What is one of the lessons from your time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� that you’ll carry with you into the next chapter?

It may sound cliche, but the most important part of my time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� was growing as a scholar along with my fellow cohort-mates. Moving through all of the PhD milestones from attending our first AERA conference through dissertation defenses and navigating the job market has deepened our relationships. I am excited to continue to grow as a scholar with the group of critical friends that I developed during my time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��.”

What does graduating from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� represent for you and/or your community?

This accomplishment was definitely a group effort. Completing a PhD during a global pandemic while also being a mother of two young children is no easy feat. All along the way, I have had the unwavering support of my amazing husband. He spent many weekend days over the last six years entertaining the kids while I worked at a local coffee shop. We are also fortunate that my mother lives nearby - she was integral in supporting me last year while I completed my dissertation. She spent several days a week at out house helping the kids with 'crisis schooling' so I could focus on writing.”

What is your best piece of advice for incoming students?

I think my best piece of advice is to be sure to maintain your hobbies and fill your life with multiple things that bring you joy outside of academia. Be sure to prioritize time for these elements as much your assigned readings and term papers. Professor Gort told me early in my time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� that an academic life is a marathon not a sprint. She is so right. I have found that spending time with family, running on local trails, and taking weekend trips to the mountains are what fills my cup and makes the academic work possible.”

What continues to drive your passion for your work after graduation?

I am driven by the continued imperative that we work with K-12 teachers to reflect on their own linguistic ideologies and the ways those open and close opportunities for students to engage in meaningful sensemaking in science and in schools in general.”

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Meet Andrés Martínez, an activist educator who leads in his school and graduate courses

Anonymous — Mon, 11 May 2020 14:33:15 +0000

Meet Andrés Martínez, an activist educator who leads in his school and graduate courses Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/11/2020 - 08:33

Andrés Martínez stood out since the first week of his Master's program. It was clear the 23-year veteran social studies teacher at Thornton High School, a majority Latinx high school, had a careful and articulate way of moving forward critical perspectives.

He politely pushed classmates to reconsider assumptions about emerging bilingual students and students of color, said Deb Palmer, professor of equity, bilingualism, and biliteracy. A Colorado native with roots from New Mexico, Texas, Chihuahua Mexico, and North Denver, Martínez has a history of community activism and he "voices his own perspectives fearlessly and diplomatically even in the face of significant disagreement or hostility," Palmer added.

Martínez has proven himself as an excellent teacher who makes comprehensive use of culturally and linguistically diverse education endorsement curriculum that is embedded in the Master’s program, Palmer said. During his time in the program, Martínez was a key player in an initiative to move forward with the Seal of Biliteracy for his school district, Adams 12, and he has led a proposal to teach ethnic studies at his school, first as an elective and then potentially as part of the curriculum.

Martínez’s leadership does not end in the classroom but extends to his family life as well. He is aware of the educational example and seeds he is sowing for his daughters, as the first in his family to graduate from high school and now to earn a graduate degree.

“I am proud to say that my 11-year-old daughter attends the same Denver Public School in North Denver that my father attended in the 1950’s and my 18-year-old daughter attends Pace University in Manhattan in New York City,” he said. “My Chicano/Indigenous family is in the process of reclaiming and helping revitalize our culture. As such, unlike myself and their mother or even my own father and mother, my daughters are both fully fluent in Spanish and they know how to pray the rosary as well as to smudge with sage before doing a sweat ceremony. They are also fluent in both Tupac, Prince, and Selena as well as Ballet Folklorico, Danza Azteca, and Mariachi.”

Martínez has studied the important role ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� played in the Chicano Movement in Colorado and the opportunity to have a ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� graduate education has been a welcome chapter in his story.

“I knew how the BUENO Center at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� grew out of that Chicano activism and how it became a center for bilingual education,” he said. “I can’t overstate the degree to which el movimiento played in the Chicanx/Latinx communities as well as the broader American culture. So when the opportunity came to me in Adams 12 for the BUENO Masters program, I knew it was meant for me.”

Get to know Outstanding Equity, Bilingualism, and Biliteracy Graduate Andrés Martínez:

What is one of the greatest experiences or lessons from your time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� that you’ll carry with you into the next chapter of your life?

I consider the level of intellectual engagement that the BUENO professors provided as the greatest experience while in the Masters program at CU. I loved how so many of my cultural beliefs that had been denied and dismissed both my K-12 and undergraduate careers were now affirmed and with academic grounding.

What is your best piece of advice for incoming students?

My advice for incoming students is to allow yourself to be truly challenged. Don’t be afraid to be the radical - nothing ever changes otherwise. Everyone has a beautiful and rich cultural heritage and if you didn’t know about it, chances are you too had it suppressed. The only way to grow as a teacher is to embrace the cognitive dissonance that comes with this kind of graduate program. Use it to fully engage in checking your own privilege otherwise you risk not only making no difference - but actually making things worse for your students. Use your privilege and your intellect as a weapon because you may be literally saving your students’ lives. Get your degree and then work in solidarity with your students and their families because true teaching is nothing short of social justice activism because It’s up to us, the bold activists, to save public schools.To me, this is also what it means to have a graduate degree.

What does graduating from graduate school represent for you?

I have no illusions that the opportunity to go to graduate school and receive a Masters degree from a prestigious institution like ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� comes from generations of my ancestors who struggled - who had their land, wealth, and culture suppressed and stolen - and even died for my generation to have these opportunities. I owe it to them, as a matter of basic justice, that my students and the youth in my family and community get the best I and we can offer them. This is what drives me today.

Andrés Martínez, 23-year veteran social studies teacher, has studied the important role ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� played in the Chicano Movement in Colorado and the opportunity to have a ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� graduate education has been a welcome chapter in his story.

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