Maria Pia Oelrich Ph.D. ’26 presented at Bilingual Education conference

Summary

Oelrich presented on Feb. 7, 2026, at the Connecticut Association of Biliteracy and Bicultural Education (CABBE) virtual conference, featuring keynote speaker Miguel A. Cardona, the 12th secretary of education of the United States.

Full Description

Doctoral student Maria Pia Oelrich Ph.D. ’26 presented at the CABBE virtual conference, which featured a keynote address by Miguel A. Cardona, the 12th secretary of education of the United States. The conference provided an opportunity for Oelrich to connect with colleagues in the field of dual language bilingual education. Her session examined why English learners remain underrepresented in dual language immersion programs despite their goal of teaching two languages simultaneously. She focused on equity and access in dual language bilingual education, debunked common myths, shared research on program benefits and provided educators with three practical resources to help families — particularly multilingual learners — access dual language programs.

Focusing on advocacy, research and professional development, CABBE is composed of educational leaders and community partners who support and advance bilingual education and dual language programming.