The Office of Bilingual Education

Mural of folklorico dancers

Mural by Raul Valdez, c. 1978 at the Pan American Recreation Center at Zavala Elementary, in Austin, Texas.

Since its establishment in 1972, the Office of Bilingual Education (OBE) has pursued a programmatic training, research, development, and dissemination agenda focused on improving the quality of educational services provided to bilingual and English Language Learners  (ELLs). OBE assists faculty interested in developing programs and services for ELLs and helps develop proposals to secure external support for these activities. Emphasis has been given to generating financial support to increase the number of qualified personnel available to serve ELLs, including bilingual education, English as a second language, and bilingual special education teachers. Emphasis is also given to developing proposals for projects that will advance the knowledge base associated with best practices in educating these learners.

Faculty Directory

Mark O’Reilly
Professor & Program Co-Chair
Special Education

María Franquiz
Professor
Bilingual/Bicultural Education

Paty Abril-Gonzalez
Assistant Professor
Bilingual/Bicultural Education

Haydeé Rodríguez
Clinical Assistant Professor, Bilingual Education Teacher Preparation Program Coordinator
Bilingual/Bicultural Education
EC-6 Bilingual Teacher Certification 
English as a Second Language (ESL) – Undergraduate

Cinthia Salinas
Professor & Program Co-Chair 
Cultural Studies in Education, Social Studies Education

Paty Abril-Gonzalez
Assistant Professor
Bilingual/Bicultural Education

Lucy Camarillo May
Lecturer, Bilingual Education Teacher Preparation Program Coordinator
Bilingual/Bicultural Education
EC-6 Bilingual Teacher Certification 
English as a Second Language (ESL) – Undergraduate

Service Activities

Funded Research

Technical, Consultation and Dissemination

Local School Districts

Texas Fiesta Educativa

UT Austin Diversity Institute