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Bilingual Teachers Pathway |
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Graduate School of Education |
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Julie Esparza-brown Director bilingual Teacher Pathway |
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The greatest gift we can give multicultural students is teachers who understand them. Julie Esparza Brown directs Portland State University's Bilingual Teacher Pathway program, filling our growing need for teachers who can engage the widest possible range of students, and help them meet state and national standards. In partnership with 14 local school districts, the program recruits bilingual/bicultural instructional assistants, who are already working in our schools. Their backgrounds and experiences make them excellent role models who can bridge their students' cultural and language differences. Julie and her colleagues build on these existing strengths, effectively "growing our own" fully licensed teachers. And in those teachers' classrooms, diverse students achieve more than ever before, while the future is enriched for all of us. Julie also instructs graduate courses in assessment, educational psychology, biliteracy development and bilingual special education. She has been in education for almost 20 years in the public schools as a bilingual teacher, a special education teacher in both a resource and self-contained setting, and as a bilingual school psychologist at all levels. Currently, she serves on local educational boards including the Oregon Council for Hispanic Administrators and Clackamas Community College’s Pathways to Success and the Oregon Association of Latino Administrators. She consults with districts to provide professional development related to Response to Intervention models for culturally and linguistically diverse students, equitable assessment practices, working with interpreter/translators, development of culturally and linguistically appropriate IEP's and linking assessment to interventions. Her current research focus is on the interpretation of standardized assessment results of English Language Learner students. She has presented locally, regionally and nationally on issues related to the assessment of diverse learners and bilingual special education. Her publications include articles related to assessment of diverse teacher candidates and bilingual education in such journals as the Bilingual Research Journal and the International Journal of Educational Policy, Research and Practice. In 2004, she was a recipient of a research grant from the Linking Academic Scholars to Educational Resources for her work on assessment of diverse individuals. She is also a national trainer of the Woodcock-Johnson III/Bateria III for the Riverside Publishing Corporation. |
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Mailing address Portland State University |
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Contact Information |
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Office 608-B ED Phone: 503-725-4696 |
