Author Page - Kathy Escamilla – Velázquez Press

Kathy Escamilla

Kathy Escamilla is a professor of education in the division of social, bilingual and multicultural foundations. Dr. Escamilla's research centers on educational issues related to Spanish speaking language minority students in U.S. schools. She is specifically interested in issues related to the development of bilingualism and biliteracy in early elementary grades for this Spanish speaking population. Her recent research has also examined assessment practices and the impact of high stakes testing on these children.

Dr. Escamilla is a member of numerous professional organizations in education and has served two terms as the president of the National Association for Bilingual Education. She has recently been appointed as a co-editor of the Bilingual Research Journal, and has served as the chair person of the Bilingual SIG for the American Education Research Association (AERA).

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Education

PhD - Curriculum and the Study of Schooling from University of California, Los Angeles (1987)
BA - in Spanish Education from University of Colorado Boulder (1971)

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Expertise

Dr. Escamilla's research focuses on:

Biliteracy Development: She investigates how Spanish-speaking emerging bilingual students acquire literacy in both Spanish and English, emphasizing the importance of maintaining and developing both languages.
Paired Literacy Instruction: Through the Literacy Squared® initiative, she promotes simultaneous literacy instruction in Spanish and English to support biliteracy.
Assessment Practices: Her work critiques traditional monolingual assessments and advocates for evaluation methods that recognize the linguistic assets of bilingual learners.
Sociolinguistic and Sociocultural Contexts: She examines how classroom environments and teacher preparation impact bilingual education outcomes.