Alejandra Vázquez Baur is a fellow at The Century Foundation, where she manages the Bridges Collaborative, an initiative that champions school integration. In 2022, she co-founded the National Newcomer Network, a coalition that brings together educators, researchers, and advocates invested in developing systemic solutions to address newcomer student inequity in K–12 schools. Under Alejandra’s leadership, the network released a policy platform in February 2024 representing the priorities of over 150 members representing over 30 U.S. states. An inaugural Obama USA Leader and former high school teacher, her work has been featured by several media outlets, including Chalkbeat, the 74 Million, K–12 Dive, Education Week, Gotham Gazette, and POLITICO. Alejandra is a proud granddaughter of Mexican farmworkers and holds degrees from Claremont McKenna College and Columbia University.

Akash Patel, originally from India, began his teaching career in very small rural communities in Oklahoma where people had never seen or met “a brown Indian guy who spoke five languages and had traveled to over 50 countries. He used his travel experiences to design all of his lessons. For example, he used his experiences of working with elephants in South Asia to teach children to make elephant poopoopaper and map elephant DNA to study poaching patterns. He currently teaches ESL with Oklahoma City Community College and serves as Epic Charter Schools’ Math+ Instructor and ELL Liaison. Patel previously taught Spanish with the Dallas Independent School District and fourth grade at Hayes elementary school in Oklahoma City. In both schools, his students have come from very difficult backgrounds and have included gang members, drug addicts and juvenile delinquents. The majority of his students at both schools had never traveled outside the US.

Patels has received many recognitions and awards including 2015 Oklahoma State Department of Education and Multicultural Institute Multicultural Teacher of the Year, and In December 2017, Patel was selected from over 30,000 nominations as one of the top 50 teachers around the world and shortlisted as a finalist for the Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Prize.

In January 2021, Patel was inducted in the International Literacy Association’s 30 Under 30 List. In January 2022, Patel was elected as the first-ever immigrant President of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). In June 2022, Patel was elected Vice-Chairman of the National Council of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) Patel was also featured as a 2022 TIME Magazine Innovative Educator of the Year…the list goes on.

Akash also connects classrooms with people and professionals worldwide using virtual platforms in what I would call a modern day pen pal program. Patel has mobilized over 1,000 volunteers from over 150 countries to join his Global Connect database at the Happy World Foundation, a Texas based global education nonprofit he founded after the passing of his twin brother Anand Happy Patel.

Patel frequently speaks at regional, national and international conferences about his classroom experience. He has also trained over 100,000 teachers to use the Global Connect database and other multicultural programs. Today, thousands of American children travel to countries worldwide through Happy World Foundation’s global education programs. To Learn more, visit happyworldfoundation.us.

Suzie is an entrepreneur, business owner, transformational speaker, and bestselling author. She is the CEO and Founder of the RTE Academy, a coaching program designed to strategically transform the lives of successful women who feel unworthy.

Survivor, or as she likes to call herself Thriver of multiple illnesses including cancer and over five abdominal surgeries, she found the way out of societal misery. Suzie’s passion and calling is to share her knowledge with women to elevate their identity alongside their worth.

“I know there is more to what the eye and even the imagination can perceive,” she expresses. This belief has taken her from having no shoes and working in the fields of Mexico, to an unstoppable, forward-moving, resilient VISIONARY.

Check out her website and social media at this link.

Sunny Day, Miss Oklahoma 2023, is a first-generation high school and college graduate. She graduated from Norman Public Schools in 2013 and went on to obtain her Bachelor of Arts in Communications at The University of Oklahoma in 2018. She has been a public-school teacher at Bridgestone Intermediate in Western Heights Public Schools since 2018. Sunny has had many roles in her school, she has taught 6th grade, served as an ESL teacher, and a 5th grade ELA and Social Studies teacher. Some of her proudest moments in her teaching career are being named Next Gen 30 Under 30 in Education (2020) and Teacher of the Year (2021). She calls her school a second home, which is why she has decided to continue to teach during her reign as Miss Oklahoma.

Sunny has a personal connection to volunteerism. As a little girl, she and her family were often taken care of by churches, schools, and the generous people within her community. As she got older, she decided she wanted to give back in the same way. She has invested over 5,000 hours in her community service endeavors. Two of her favorite organizations she has been a part of are OKC Teem and the Tim Tebow Foundation. Aside from her service work, she has done a lot within the walls of her own school. Planting a school garden, starting her school’s first cheer team, and establishing a recycling club are some of her many leadership roles in her school.

Over time, she created her own character development school program called Ready S.E.T. Go: Building Skills Today for Tomorrow’s Success. Her community service initiative is a mission that provides a path to gain life-skills, mentorship, scholarships, and the dream life for youth of all ages and upbringings, by helping them navigate school, the workforce, and life experiences. Through an interactive, three-pillared approach (Support. Encourage. Teach.), Ready S.E.T. GO empowers youth to embrace our mission; to provide our youth with the skills to be their most successful, confident, and empowered selves, no matter their life circumstances.

Sunny began her unique journey in the Miss Oklahoma Organization in 2020. She held her local title for two years and went on to compete at Miss Oklahoma 2021 where she placed 4th Runner-Up. She was also awarded multiple community service awards, interview awards, and Overall Rookie. After the 2021 competition, Sunny’s journey in the Miss Oklahoma Organization came to an end due to aging out, until Miss America announced their age increase in 2023. Sunny earned the title of Miss Norman and went on to compete at Miss Oklahoma 2023. She walked away as Miss Oklahoma 2023. Sunny has won over $70,000 from the Miss Oklahoma Organization and is now debt-free and on her way to obtain her Masters in Education.

Sunny has big plans to travel the state as Miss Oklahoma and make Oklahoma her classroom by going into schools across the state and implementing her school program. As a big sister and educator, she is looking forward to educating and empowering today’s youth. Aside from connecting with students, she is eager to speak with legislators about education reform, bring in new sponsors and partnerships to the Miss Oklahoma Organization, and build an empowerment workshop program for the future women of this organization.

Sunny is the daughter of Jamie Day and Samuel Day, the big sister the Kali Day (25), Maron Day (18), Harley Day (16), and Jordyn Day (12), and a proud dog mom to her boxer Arie.

Follow Sunny on Social Media! @missamericaok @sunnymday

Join me and four graduate students (Aya Iwamoto, Genevieve Simmons, Hyekyong Yun, & Julie Muir) from the University of Central Oklahoma’s Master’s in Bilingual Education program as we reflect on the impact of data utilization within language programs, examining both its positive contributions and potential pitfalls. Drawing from personal and professional experiences, we discuss how data-informed decision-making can drive program improvement while also highlighting the importance of ethical and responsible data practices in education. Through firsthand experiences and insights, we explore how embracing diverse languages enhances classroom dynamics and informs assessment practices. Accompany us as we explore practical approaches to foster fair and unbiased assessments that support all learners

Dr. Stephen Krashen completed his Ph.D. in Linguistics at UCLA (1972), and is currently an Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Krashen is the author of more than 525 articles and books in the fields of bilingual education, neurolinguistics, second language acquisition and literacy.

He has received numerous awards including the Mildenberger Award (1982), given for his book, Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning (Prentice-Hall), the Pimsleur Award, given by the American Council of Foreign Language Teachers for the best published article in 1985, the Dorothy C. McKenzie Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Field of Children’s Literature (Children’s Literature Council of Southern California), a Doctorate of Humane Letters awarded by Lewis and Clark College, Portland (2011), and the “Kenneth S. Goodman In Defense of Good Teaching” Award, by the College of Education, University of Arizona, 2019.

https://www.sdkrashen.com/ - for past articles & books

Mónica Suyo moved from Lima, Perú to Norman, OK in 2001. Her dream was to study abroad and explore other cultures. Prior to studying at the University of Oklahoma (OU), Mónica was an exchange student in Sevilla, Spain. She graduated from OU in 2004 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She also holds a Master's degree in Human Relations.

She has been in education for over 15 years and has professional experience in educational settings ranging from Pre-K to post-secondary. Currently she is the Director of Recruitment & Community Engagement at Cristo Rey OKC High School. Previously she was the Assistant Director of TRIO, Upward Bound Program at Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC). Before OCCC, Mónica was the Dean of Academic Programs at Le Monde International School, a language immersion public charter school in Norman, OK. Apart from her professional experiences, she has been a volunteer and board member on numerous non-profits.

Mónica, as the Director of Recruitment and Community Engagement, enjoys being out in the community and making sure people know what Cristo Rey OKC High School is about. She is looking to build more of a presence in the community and would love to make sure that everyone in and around Oklahoma City and beyond knows about Cristo Rey. Also, her goal is to spread more information about what it takes to be admitted to Cristo Rey and what it means to be a part of the school. What she loves is to work with families and enjoys working with students along with getting to know them.

Mónica currently resides in Norman, OK with her husband, Ryan, whom she met at OU when they both were undergraduates. They have been married for 20 years and have a son, Samuel (Sam). Sam is the owner of Heavenly Nectar, and actively participates in other programs and activities from Loveworks Leadership organization. Mónica enjoys traveling and has been to numerous places and historical sites in her home country of Perú. She has also traveled to numerous places in the United States including Orlando, Washington D.C., St. Louis, and her personal favorite Eureka Springs in Arkansas.

Daniela Perieda is passionate about bilingualism and education reform. She is the author of “Become a Bilingual Family – The Best Method For Raising Bilingual Children, Even If You Only Speak One Language” and is the Past President of the Oklahoma Association for Bilingual Education. She holds a Family Life Education – Child Development degree from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, OK.

Daniela helps parents create meaningful relationships with their children while learning Spanish. She believes teachers and families play an important role in the development of the WHOLE child. For this reason, her goal is to create a community of bilingual families.

Bilingual Family began as Daniela’s dream. With the love, support and encouragement of Jon, her husband, it became a reality in 2013. As they started their own family, the meaning of Bilingual Family evolved. They are committed not only to raising bilingual children, but are also committed to creating a program that they would feel fortunate to send their children to. A program where children are respected as individuals and their unique gifts and skills are fostered. A program that will become a model for education reform. A program where families feel supported and connected.

Bilingual Family, found at bilingualfamily.us, is dedicated to fostering bilingualism and a love for learning in an environment that values the family as the primary teacher. With a commitment to full Spanish immersion and a mixed-age model, Bilingual Family school promotes a collaborative, growth-focused atmosphere that reflects the core belief that the family is instrumental in shaping a child’s educational experience.

All of Daniela’s past, present and future endeavors are rooted in the belief that "second language acquisition is all about RELATIONSHIPS"