Maria “Lulu” Mendez

Born and raised in Eagle Pass, Texas, Dr. Maria “Lulu” Mendez comes from immigrant parents and first generation in the United States. Her professional trajectory started as a teacher assistant supporting bilingual students, soon realizing that teaching was her passion and became a bilingual teacher. Mendez’s advocacy and passion for multilingual students has impacted her path in transforming education for all students. Her expertise includes working with linguistically diverse students and their families from all over the world. Newcomer students have increased in the educational system, Dr. Mendez collaborates with administrators, teachers, and their staff to ensure equitable access for newcomers to include systems, framework, and curriculum.

Furthermore, Dr. Mendez gained multiple experiences in working with students and teachers in a Pre-K to 12th-grade spectrum. As a former District’s Curriculum and Instruction ESL Specialist, her priority was to support district-wide initiatives by collaborating with other administrators and content area specialists to ensure that effective instructional practices were being implemented in the classrooms. Specifically, with teachers of linguistically diverse learners to provide students access to core curriculum and lift first-generation students by creating a blueprint for success through a variety of innovative programs.

As a curriculum and instructional leader, Dr. Mendez has the extensive background to connect the theory to praxis to guide instructional practices and curriculum that support student engagement, promotes ownership, and empower teacher and student learning. Her experiences working with elementary and secondary students, teachers and administrators, for over 25 years, had provided opportunities to develop the framework and curriculum to address the needs of ALL students to include different populations such as the bilingual child, dual language, a transitional bilingual program, and ESL programs and newcomers. Dr. Mendez is presently an adjunct professor in the College of Education at Texas A&M San Antonio, has an Undergraduate Degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Master’s in Educational Administration from Texas A&M Kingsville, and a Doctorate from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Curriculum and Instruction.