Sarah A. De La Garza, Ph.D., has become the new Assistant Director of the 1882 Dual Language Partnerships at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). This partnership between UTSA’s College of Education and Human Development (COEHD) and San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) was created as part of Senate Bill 1882, signed into law in 2017. It provides dual language instructional support at four SAISD campuses, Graebner Elementary being added just this year.
The purpose of the 1882 Partnership is to close gaps between educational theory and practice in the classroom by creating a model dual language school network to enhance the preparation received by educators of bilingual students in San Antonio. Drawing on the shared expertise of practitioners in the schools and researchers and teacher preparation faculty, the lab schools serve as sites for innovation and as models for dual language programs across the nation.
De La Garza is no stranger to teaching, teacher education, and bilingual education. From Laredo, Texas and an alum Stanford University and Trinity University, De La Garza has experience as a secondary teacher, instructional specialist, assistant principal, and Assistant Director of Bilingual and ESL Programs at Jubilee Academies. She recently earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from The University of Texas at Austin. At UT Austin, she was a research assistant for three years with the Teacher Turnover Project, a project led by Drs. Huriya Jabbar and Jennifer Holme. She also worked under former interim UTSA president, Dr. Pedro Reyes, who also served as her dissertation chair. She also served as a teaching assistant for several courses in the Cooperative Superintendency Program. Her research focuses on emergent bilingual student success, school improvement, and educator preparation
As Assistant Director for the 1882 Partnership, De La Garza brings her vast research experience and expertise to the role.
“Her experience in managing innovative programs and research studies at the university level will help advance the preparation of bilingual educators in San Antonio,” said 1882 Partnership Executive Director Juanita Santos, Ph.D. in a written statement. “Additionally, her work on teacher preparation programs at UT Austin will build on the solid foundation clinical teachers already receive at UTSA.”
“I am honored to be part of a team leading a comprehensive, systemic, research-based dual language network, committed to the San Antonio community and the success of all emergent bilinguals, and thrilled to work alongside Executive Director Santos in continuing the excellent work happening at our partner schools.”
In a written statement of her own, De La Garza said, “I am honored to be part of a team leading a comprehensive, systemic, research-based dual language network, committed to the San Antonio community and the success of all emergent bilinguals, and thrilled to work alongside Executive Director Santos in continuing the excellent work happening at our partner schools.”
She says her primary goal as assistant director is to use her experience as a practitioner and researcher to highlight at the local, state, and national levels the power dual language education has to transform children’s lives.
In a written statement, Associate Dean for Strategic Partnerships, Preparation and Growth, Belinda Bustos Flores, Ph.D., said:
“We are very fortunate to have Dr. De La Garza join our UTSA Dual Language Community Lab School Partnership. Her experience in program evaluation will greatly assist us in evaluating and improving the practices at the lab schools as well as ensuring and strengthening the partnership and the outcomes for the leaders, teachers, families, and students as well as our teacher candidates served in the lab schools.”
The 1882 Partnership is just one of the many collaborations between UTSA and San Antonio school districts. As an urban serving university, UTSA is dedicated to student success and creating pathways to a college education. The partnership furthers UTSA’s goal of becoming a model Hispanic thriving university by serving the Hispanic community through strategic educational partnerships. For more information visit https://education.utsa.edu/community-engagement/strategic-ed-partnerships/dual-language-community-lab.html.
-Christopher Reichert