Maria Salazar

Dr. Maria del Carmen Salazar is a faculty member in the College of Education at the University of Denver.  In 2004, Maria completed her doctorate in Social, Multicultural, and Bilingual Foundations of Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Maria's research interests include the academic achievement of Mexican immigrant children, including the role that language, identity, and culture play in the academic and social resilience of children of Mexican descent.  She presents her research at national conferences every year, including the National Association of Bilingual Educators, and the American Educational Research Association.  She has published articles on the resiliency of Mexican immigrant students. Maria was born in Mexico, raised in North Denver, and is a graduate of North High School.  As a student in the Denver Public Schools, she was labeled as disadvantaged, at-risk, low-income, and underprivileged.  Maria now serves as a coordinator and instructor for an urban teacher education program.  She works with teachers to deconstruct deficit ideologies and instead build a foundation for education that is centered on the cultural and linguistic resources of diverse youth.