Accelerating Texas K12 Education

Career Highlight: Liz Garza-Garcia

To kick off its first episode, host of K12 Summit’s new Educator Series podcast, JW Marshall, spoke with Dr. Liz Garza Garcia, president of BEAM with 16 years in education. While “Lizzie,” as nicknamed in college, would have never been associated with teaching, Garcia began mentoring and tutoring students in junior college. The experience of witnessing Spanish-speaking students fall behind because of the language barrier — not a knowledge gap — sparked her desire and passion for teaching. Garcia’s education career progressed from tutor to educator and eventually administration; regardless the stage, she focused her path on impacting bilingual and inequitable learning environments. “I went and decided to go into administration to be that administrator I never had,” Garcia explained. After witnessing these unfair learning conditions, Garcia enrolled in a university — one that was up to par with her passion for equality and bilingual education — to receive a doctorate and gain even more credibility. While at her school of choice, Texas A&M Commerce, Garcia decided to focus on the evaluator’s feedback perspective from bilingual educators. The unfortunate realization of her studies? “Nothing really has changed and … more inequities have begun to open up and be masked [with Band-Aid fixes].” For districts with bilingual programs, Garcia believes the educators should take the initiative to research the topic through getting involved with their local bilingual association (found at nabe.org) and discovering more resources at beamdfw.org. “The great hope is that we’re going to be the mecca… Every single district that has a thriving dual-language program is trying to reach the same exact place — and that’s the mecca of dual-language programming.” Garcia, clearly passionate on the subject, is confident that if everyone has the same vision, then they will undoubtedly reach their goal while also exciting single-language students to learn an additional language to get in on the fun.

BEAM DFW: Episode 1

Finding quality professional organizations as a bi-lingual teacher to network, enjoy professional development opportunities, and find answers to difficult questions can be challenging. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was even more so. In this episode, Dr. Liz Garza-Garcia, President, BEAM spoke with life-long members Dr. Annette Torres-Elias, Associate Professor, Texas Woman’s University, and Dr. Uvaldina “Dini” Janacek, Retired Assistant Professor, the University of North Texas at Dallas about the benefits of being a member of the BEAM Association. To begin, BEAM stands for Bilingual/ESL Education Association of the Metroplex. The organization has its roots in the Texas Association for Bilingual Education (TABE) which held its first conference in 1976. Eventually, the work started at this conference led to the creation of BEAM which continues to thrive with nearly 900 educators from 40+ districts across the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex (BEAM DFW). Dr. Janicek found the organization quite by accident. A bi-lingual teacher since 1989, she was happy to find a place where she could get support for her work. And, despite being retired, she continues to work with BEAM. “One of the things that intrigues me the most about BEAM is that it’s a pre-K, 16 plus partnership. I encountered that term when I was an administrator at one of the area community colleges. And I think that makes so much sense to link the pre-K12 education system with higher education,” Janicek said. When asked what keeps her involved, Janicek said, “when I go to BEAM meetings, it makes me feel like I have really devoted myself to a worthy venture, a worthy career. It gives me validation in terms of my life’s work, and I want to keep contributing any way I can. Dr. Torres-Elias has a similar story. She found BEAM as a graduate student at Texas Woman’s University in the mid-1990s after completing an alternative certification for bilingual education. In the early 90s, Dr. Torres-Elias started work in a school district with a brand-new bilingual program. There were only three teachers with lots of questions and very few answers. “A lot of will to do good for kids but not enough hours. Searching for answers I came to BEAM and I found answers and so much more,” Torres-Elias stated. Dr. Torres-Elias continued to talk about how “BEAM has been an important part of [her] professional career. I became a member looking for support, networking, professional development, and advocacy. And those are precisely the reasons I am still a member of BEAM.” For more information about BEAM DFW, visit beamdfw.org.

BEAM DFW: Episode 2

Community… professional development… opportunity… a network that supports, elevates and encourages bilingual educators to thrive in building a career that brings out the highest levels of achievement and success in every individual. Sound like a dream? Join the BEAM organization to become a member of a community that is this and so much more. In one of the first episodes of the BEAM DFW podcast, Dr. Liz Garza-Garcia, President, BEAM spoke with lifelong members Dr. Luis Rosado, Professor & Director Center for Bilingual Education, University of Texas at Arlington, Dr. Patsy Robles-Goodwin, Professor & Director for Bilingual Education Programs, Texas Wesleyan University, and Dr. Patsy Sosa-Sanchez, Assistant Professor, University of North Texas at Dallas regarding their journey to discovering and staying with the BEAM organization for over 20 years. Dr. Robles-Goodwin noted that BEAM did not exist when she started teaching but heard about the organization in the 1990s after becoming a school administrator. At the time, she was drawn to the organization because it was comprised of many districts. In fact, this is one of the unique aspects of BEAM that is attractive to members. “As a school administrator it was an opportunity to join with others that were like me, in my position and to involve my teachers in an organization that was from Dallas/Fort Worth,” said Dr. Robles-Goodwin. Dr. Rosado joined in 1998 after becoming a member of the Texas Woman’s University faculty. As a bilingual faculty member and student at TWU, participation in BEAM events and activities was expected as a part of the professional development process. Dr. Sosa-Sanchez became a member “through the BESO organization [when she was a student at TWU] which is the beginning of a great journey in becoming a qualified bilingual teacher. The opportunities that BEAM offers BESO members are really just amazing because of the professional development opportunities that we have.” And why do they stay after over 20 years of service? Dr. Rosado shared his view on why he continues to work with the organization. “The BEAM association basically keeps me alive because this is a very active association, and the youth of the new leaders make me feel engaged. This is something that I want to keep on doing it.” He also noted that it was wonderful to see BESO students getting advanced degrees and becoming the leaders of today. BEAM (Bilingual/ESL Education Association of the Metroplex) has nearly 900 educators from 40+ districts across the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. And during the pandemic, the organization has experienced growth outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth areas. The conversation opened with a discussion of how each member found BEAM. For more information about BEAM DFW, visit beamdfw.org.