Bilingual Education has long been known to have positive effects on students academically and socially. Studies show that Bilingual students outperform monolingual students and as the guests in this episode point out a number of times, bilingualism has numerous other benefits. 

I counted myself extremely lucky to sit down with Ms. Norma Garcia, the director of Multi-Language in Harlingen, Texas, Dr. Edith Treviño (better known as Dr. ET) author and dynamic speaker, and Dr. Mónica Lara, author and the CEO of Seidlitz Education. 

Let me warn you that this episode is brimming with passion. I don’t know if there’s any way I could have found 3 other people more passionate about bilingual education. They share with us the pillars of bilingual education, what translanguaging is, what the most effective bilingual classrooms look and sound like, and how we can advocate for and support the families of our students. 

I’ll tell you this, even if you are not serving in a bilingual program, you will leave with new ideas and perspectives that you can apply to your role. 

Ms. Norma Garcia can be found on Twitter @HCISDmultiLang or on LinkedIn 

Dr. ET can be found on Twitter @DRETontheborder and she has a large following on TikTok too. Dr. ET also has a website where you can find more information about her work. 

Dr. Lara can be found on Twitter @DRMLara or on LinkedIn. Dr. Lara is the co-author of ELs in Texas: What Teachers Need to Know, ELs in Texas: What School Leaders Need to Know, and the author of iToma la palabra!. You can find more information about her work on this website.