Dual Language Community Lab Schools

UTSA Partners with SAISD to establish Dual Language Community Lab Schools

by Libby Castillo

The College of Education and Human Development (COEHD) and San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) are partnering to lead three Dual Language Community Lab Schools. As part of Senate Bill 1882, signed into law during the 2017 Texas legislative session, the partnership aims to create a dual language model lab school network that will advance the preparation of teachers, principals, counselors, school psychologists, and others dedicated to educating bilingual students in San Antonio.

Housed at Bonham Academy, Irving Dual Language Academy, and Twain Dual Language Academy, COEHD directors, faculty, graduate students, clinical students and clinical teachers as well as teachers, students, parents and administrators in the three schools will serve as a model for practice and research into the value and best models for dual language instruction. Drawing on the shared expertise of practitioners in the schools and researchers and teacher preparation faculty, the lab school will serve as a site for innovation and a model for dual language programs across the nation.

“Each of these schools is considered a dual language model school and there is a genuine commitment to dual language by the leadership, teachers, staff and community,” said Belinda Flores, UTSA associate dean of Professional Preparation and Partnerships. “Across COEHD, faculty and staff have expertise in the areas of bilingualbicultural/dual language education to support and promote these innovative practices.”

The partnership was developed to close the gap between educational theory and practice in the classroom.

“There has long been a call to transform educator preparation to ensure that all students have educational opportunities to achieve their potential,” Flores said. “Through this partnership, COEHD intends to tackle these challenges and find solutions to help these students achieve their maximum potential.”

As part of the partnership, COEHD faculty and students as well as teachers and students in the schools will engage in research to identify best practices for educator preparation programs, to examine the role of EC-12 culturally and linguistically efficacious and responsive teaching and leadership practices, and to examine contexts and practices that lead to exceptional biliteracy and academic outcomes. “Engaged research, directly tied to education practice is at the heart of COEHD’s research missions” said Juliet Langman, Interim Dean. “The partnership places COEHD with other research colleges of education in a space for innovation and discovery.” of knowledge around culturally sustaining pedagogy and teaching,” said David Nungaray, principal of Bonham Academy. “At Bonham this partnership will enrich our pillars of dual language, environmental science and fine arts and open many doors for our staff, students, and community. We envision our 1882 partnership to be a model for the nation and for urban education in unifying a community vision with strategic, community-based partnerships. Our staff looks forward to building upon and establishing new collaborations with UTSA professors and staff to further enrich our students’ lives, and to growing in our own learning as mentors to future educators. This 1882 partnership represents the power of partnership and will build a pipeline for future dual language educators and leaders.”

The 1882 partnership is just one of the many partnerships between UTSA and San Antonio School districts. As an urban serving, community-engaged university, UTSA is dedicated to student success and creating pathways to a college education. As a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), the partnership furthers UTSA’s goal of becoming a model Hispanic thriving university by serving the Hispanic community through strategic educational partnerships.

“Through a long-standing relationship with SAISD, the partnership solidifies COEHD’s mutual commitment to social justice, bicultural-bilingual and equitable education. In addition, these partnerships support UTSA’s Bold Futures Initiative and COEHD’s partnership initiatives for optimizing opportunities, transforming lives, and creating endless possibilities for learners, faculty and staff alike,” says Juliet Langman, interim dean of the College of Education and Human Development.

JUANITA SANTOS will serve as executive director of the Dual Language Community Lab Schools. In her 28 years in education, Santos has served as a classroom teacher, as an instructional coach and as an assistant principal in Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. In addition to her varied experience in the classroom, she has worked as an administrator at several Title 1 dual language campuses. Most recently, she was principal for Rayburn Elementary School in the Harlandale Independent School District.