About the Authors

Iliana Alanís

Iliana Alanís is an assistant professor in the Division of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas at Brownsville, where she teaches courses on dual language instruction, lesson design, curriculum development, and general elementary methods. Her interests include two-way bilingual programs, dual language curriculum development, and language and literacy.

Josephine Arce

Josephine Arce is an assistant professor at San Francisco State University. She teaches second language acquisition: theory and practices, reading methods and theory of literacy development. Her research focuses on literacy development in two-way Spanish immersion, critical pedagogy, and reconceptualizing the role of teachers as cultural and intellectual workers.

Robert J. Johnson

Robert J. Johnson is an associate professor at the University of Houston-Downtown in the Urban Education Department. His research interests include the socio-cultural context of bilingual education, language and literacy learning of language minority students, and the application of critical pedagogy in seeking changes in the social structure of schooling. Dr. Johnson is the newly-elected chair of the Critical Pedagogy Special Interest Group for NABE.

Anita Méndez Pérez

Anita Méndez Pérez is a graduate of the doctoral Bilingual Special Education Program at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a lecturer in the Department of Communication Disorders at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. She is also a bilingual speech language pathologist and works in private practice.

Mari Riojas-Cortéz

Mari Riojas-Cortéz is an assistant professor of early childhood education in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research interests include the play of Mexican American children as it relates to language and literacy development, as well as social development in bilingual classrooms, parental involvement in early childhood, and teacher preparation. Examples of her work have appeared in Dimensions of Early Childhood, Early Child Development and Care, and Diversity Studies. She may be reached at mriojas@utsa.edu.

Dora Tellier-Robinson

Dora Tellier-Robinson received her Ph.D. in bilingual/special education from New York University where she was a Title VII fellow. She holds an M.A. in early childhood education from Teachers College, Columbia University. The focus of Dr. Tellier-Robinson’s research is on the parental involvement of language minority (especially Portuguese-speaking) parents. Her other research interests include early intervention and early childhood education. She has authored or co-authored articles in NABE News, Exceptional Children, and The Educational Forum.

Katie Van Sluys

Katie Van Sluys is pursuing doctoral studies in language education, with a minor in cultural inquiry at Indiana University, Bloomington. Ms. Van Sluys earned her B.A. in both elementary education and Spanish at Gustavus Adophus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, and her M.S. in language education from Indiana University. She currently teaches reading and language arts methods courses for pre-service teachers. Research interests include critical literacy curriculum in classrooms, identity exploration through writing, as well as pre-service teacher education.