Dr. Gómez Leaves for University Post

Dr. Richard Gómez Jr. has become Associate Dean of the School of Education at the University of Texas, Brownsville, leaving his position as director of Washington’s Migrant and Bilingual Education Programs.

One of the hallmarks of his 4½ years with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has been the expansion of the "dual language" and "content ESL" approaches to bilingual education, away from the less effective "pullout ESL" methodology still common in many schools.

He plans to continue his efforts in the dual-language programs by developing a teacher preparation program to certify teachers in Dual Language Instruction.

This new opportunity allows Dr. Gómez to not only continue his work in bilingual education, but also brings him closer to his aging parents, which has been a primary concern for him.

"Richard Gomez has led our statewide efforts to create bilingual learning opportunities and dual-language programs in dozens of our schools and to increase the achievement of our English language learners," says Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson. "His leadership will be sorely missed, but I am committed to building on the success he created.

"I’m leaving, but Dr. Bergeson has already given me a list of things she wants me to help her with," says Dr. Gómez.

"When I got here in 2001, I said that the year started with two Texans going to two different Washingtons. Bush went to Washington, D.C., and I came here. And I wondered who got the better deal," Dr. Gómez says. "Now I know I did, because I met so many wonderful people here."

Initial interviews of applicants to replace Dr. Gómez began in late August, and Dr. Bergeson says she hopes to have a new director in place by the end of September.

Besides promoting dual-language and content ESL instructional models, "Dr. Gómez was instrumental in implementing a statewide English language assessment that would help the state gauge student acquisition of the English language and use the resulting data to help inform schools and districts on how to better focus their efforts to help students master the English language and be successful in their coursework," says Sylvia Reyna, one of OSPI’s migrant education program supervisors who worked under Dr. Gómez.

He also led his staff and advisory boards in establishing English language development standards that aligned to the state "grade level expectations" and "essential academic learning requirements."

And Dr. Gómez provided important national leadership. He met with federal officials on a regular basis, helping to make important changes to federal programs and regulations.

His national leadership was recognized to such an extent that he was elected president of the National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education (NASDME) and directed the past two National Migrant Education Conferences.

Dr. Gomez urges Washington educators to stay the course in education reform. Over 40 schools adopted dual-language instruction since he came to Washington. He predicts that when these programs mature and the children who began the programs as kindergartners start taking the fourth-grade WASL, school officials all over the state will see the monumental improvements and will want to establish the same reforms in their districts.