Texas Association for Bilingual Education Honors Teacher for Dedication, Leadership

Perez Elementary School teacher María Jesus Sebastián was recognized by the Texas Association for Bilingual Education as the group's 2019 Bilingual Teacher of the Year.  

Sebastian was honored for her work and dedication to the needs of English language learners, and for her outstanding leadership.

"As the 2019 TABE Bilingual Teacher of the Year, I am looking forward to serving as an advocate for bilingual education enrichment programs, bilingual teachers, and most importantly bilingual education students," she said.

A National Board Certified Teacher, Sebastián has been with Austin ISD for 13 years as a bilingual teacher at Perez. Sebastián taught third grade bilingual and dual-language classes for 11 years, and currently teaches second-grade dual language.

"Superheroes live among us! María Sebastián takes the fight, la lucha for her students and their families to the classroom, inspiring them to proclaim their language stories and strive to being bilingual, biliterate and bicultural," AISD Multilingual Education Executive Director David Kauffman said. "We are proud to have, for the second year in a row, an AISD teacher named TABE Bilingual Teacher of the Year. Witness María Sebastián's passion, skill and brilliance and you will see her fly."

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus in bilingual education from Prairie View A&M University, graduating summa cum laude in 2000. She also holds an Associate of Arts degree from North Harris College in Houston.