WNMU
Press Releases

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 8/20/01

SILVER CITY—Western New Mexico University School of Education Professor Richard Rodriguez was one of 30 participants in the Bilingual Special Education Institute held at the Bueno Center for Multicultural Education located at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The institute participants were selected from a national pool of university professionals regarded as knowledgeable and who have significantly contributed to the education of culturally and linguistically different children with disabilities.

Members from the U.S. Department of Education also participated in the institute held on August 1 – 5.

The institute was chaired by Dr. Leonard Baca, professor and director of the Bueno Center. Issues in non-discriminatory assessment, second language acquisition, instruction, collaboration, classroom management, family empowerment, and learning strategies were presented and discussed. A fundamental theme of the institute was to determine best practices in the preparation of teachers in bilingual special education. Teacher preparation continues to receive national attention, particularly as it relates to bilingual children who are disabled.

Professor Rodriguez is the senior faculty member in the WNMU School of Education. His area of expertise is special education with a specialty in bilingual special education. He has published numerous articles and has presented at various state, national, and international conferences. He has also prepared and directed federal and state grants which assist students in their preparation as special education teachers. Most notably was Project BESTT, which provided graduate level training in bilingual special education to 25 teachers from the Cobre, Deming, and Lordsburg school districts. This grant was one of 16 funded by the U.S. Department of Education that cycle. The program model of Project BESTT, Bilingual/English as a second language/ Special Education/ Teacher Training, has been instituted nationally by various colleges of education. He is active in committee work at the university, state, and national level. In 1999, Rodriguez received state recognition for his contribution to the children and families of New Mexico.