Jose Luis Alvarado
Professional
| Ph.D. | Special Education | University of Virginia |
| M.A. | Special Education | San Diego State University |
| B.A. | Psychology | San Diego State University |
| A.A. | General Education | Imperial Valley College |
I was born in in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. My family immigrated to the USA when I was 10 years old. It was an economic decision my parents made because they understood that we would have greater opportunities in this country. I started the fourth grade in an English-only classroom where the teacher did very little to make me feel a part of the classroom. The teacher relegated all of her responsibilities to a Spanish-speaking instructional assistant who worked with me in the back of the room. At times, the instructional assistant seemed to struggle with having to translate the lesson and assignments for me. I recall few interactions with that teacher, and I was never a part of classroom activities with the exception of art and physical education. I felt invisible in that class.
I did receive English as a Second Language (ESL) pullout services for one hour every day. That, to me, was the most exciting time of the day. I had opportunities to be engaged with a teacher and fellow students who spoke my language, who shared similar experiences, but most importantly showed a genuine concern for me as a person. I was not invisible while I was in Mrs. Marquez's ESL class. I felt accepted, understood. I belonged. Even though I received minimal instruction from my fourth grade teacher, I had the advantage of having attended schools in Mexico until the third grade. Consequently I was a fluent reader in Spanish and had mastered the math concepts that were being covered in fourth grade.
My early school experiences certainly influenced my decision to take on a profession where I could make the same kind of impact that Mrs. Marquez had on me. I completed the rest of my public schooling in Brawley, CA. I then enrolled in Imperial Valley College and earned my A.A. in general education. While I worked in the Community College's Financial Aid Department I continued on to San Diego State University and after two years earned my B.A. in psychology. I accepted a job with the Imperial County Mental Health department working in a day treatment program for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. While working in the program I realized that I was ill-prepared in helping these students with their academic needs. I proceeded to enroll at SDSU to work on my Multiple Subject Bilingual teaching credential. While taking courses I was offered a position as a special education teacher for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. I accepted and soon enrolled in a special education teacher preparation program at SDSU Imperial Valley Campus funded by a grant secured by Dr. Patricia Cegelka. I earned my general bilingual and learning handicapped specialist teaching credentials and a year later earned an M.A. in special education also from SDSU. After working as a special education teacher I accepted a position as a Program Specialist with the Imperial County Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA). After three years in that position I moved cross country to work on my Ph.D. at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.
Currently I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at San Diego State University. My primary area of research interest is effective behavioral and academic programming for students with mild and moderate disabilities. More specifically, I am interested on the effect of effective instructional practices derived from the post-positivist theory on the literacy and academic achievement of second language learners with disabilities. There is an urgent need to develop empirically tested instructional strategies delineating best practices for providing services to language minority students with disabilities.
Personal
One of the things I enjoy most is spending time with my family. My wife and I have two wonderful boys who love to be involved in a variety of activities.
Courses
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