Austin Area Association For Bilingual Education

Higher education is costly for everyone; for undocumented students these costs are very often prohibitive. We believe that all young people have a right to a quality education, and that undocumented students contribute enormously to the school communities of which they are a part.

Students who do not have citizenship status or permanent residency face many obstacles in attending higher education institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin. They are generally not able to work legally at the university, nor are they eligible for most sources of financial aid.

For this reason, this project seeks to raise funds for scholarships that would help to defray expenses (in particular, books, living expenses, and other non-tuition expenses) for undocumented students attending UT’s College of Education. The Austin Area Association for Bilingual Education (AAABE), in partnership with interested faculty and students from the College of Education, supports these future educators, recognizing that undocumented students have much to offer in our courses as well as in their future professions as teachers, coaches, administrators, teacher educators, and education researchers.

Furthermore, part of the core mission of the College of Education is its commitment to “a culture of social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in which students, faculty, staff, and visitors engage in an environment that is welcoming and respectful of all people.” Creating a welcoming environment for all students, including through material assistance with expenses they confront in their education, coheres with this central mission of the College.

This project will not only benefit recipients. It will also benefit their peers in the College, as well as their professors, since it will help to facilitate a more diverse student body and one that is richer in terms of different life experiences and kinds of cultural knowledge that are present in our courses and conversations.

To the extent that this project helps students to be able to attend the College of Education, it will also benefit the future students and colleagues of our undocumented students once they move on from the university. This initiative is supported by allies at the UT College of Education and Austin Area Association for Bilingual Education.

For more information about AAABE, visit www.aaabe.org

Higher education is costly for everyone; for undocumented students these costs are very often prohibitive. We believe that all young people have a right to a quality education, and that undocumented students contribute enormously to the school communities of which they are a part.

Students who do not have citizenship status or permanent residency face many obstacles in attending higher education institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin. They are generally not able to work legally at the university, nor are they eligible for most sources of financial aid.

For this reason, this project seeks to raise funds for scholarships that would help to defray expenses (in particular, books, living expenses, and other non-tuition expenses) for undocumented students attending UT’s College of Education. The Austin Area Association for Bilingual Education (AAABE), in partnership with interested faculty and students from the College of Education, supports these future educators, recognizing that undocumented students have much to offer in our courses as well as in their future professions as teachers, coaches, administrators, teacher educators, and education researchers.



Furthermore, part of the core mission of the College of Education is its commitment to “a culture of social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in which students, faculty, staff, and visitors engage in an environment that is welcoming and respectful of all people.” Creating a welcoming environment for all students, including through material assistance with expenses they confront in their education, coheres with this central mission of the College.

This project will not only benefit recipients. It will also benefit their peers in the College, as well as their professors, since it will help to facilitate a more diverse student body and one that is richer in terms of different life experiences and kinds of cultural knowledge that are present in our courses and conversations.

To the extent that this project helps students to be able to attend the College of Education, it will also benefit the future students and colleagues of our undocumented students once they move on from the university. This initiative is supported by allies at the UT College of Education and Austin Area Association for Bilingual Education.

For more information about AAABE, visit www.aaabe.org