Virginia P. Collier

George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
4400 University Dr.
MS 4B3
Fairfax, VA 22030

Dr. Virginia P. Collier is Professor Emerita of Bilingual/Multicultural/ESL Education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, located in the metropolitan area of Washington, D.C. She is best known for her work with senior researcher, Dr. Wayne Thomas, on school effectiveness for linguistically and culturally diverse students. Spotlighted by the national and international media, their award-winning national research studies have had a substantial impact on school policies in the United States and abroad. A popular speaker, Dr. Collier has given 165 keynote speeches and 282 invited presentations to international, national, state, and local conferences over the past 25 years. She and Dr. Thomas have also conducted educational leadership training for superintendents, principals, and education policy makers in 29 U.S. states and 15 countries. She is co-author with Carlos Ovando of the professional reference book, Bilingual and ESL Classrooms: Teaching in Multicultural Contexts, with the third edition published by McGraw-Hill in 2003. This book is a well-known, comprehensive reference on research, policy, and effective practices in U.S. schools for students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In addition, Dr. Collier has over 70 other publications in the field of language minority education, including her popular monograph, Promoting Academic Success for ESL Students. In 1989, she received the Distinguished Faculty Award from George Mason University for excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Proficient in Spanish and English, having lived in Central America during her childhood, she has served the field of language minority education for over three decades as parent, teacher, researcher, teacher educator, and doctoral mentor.

• Ovando, C.J., Collier, V.P., & Combs, M.C. (2003). Bilingual and ESL classrooms: Teaching in multicultural contexts (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
• The Thomas and Collier 2002 national study, funded by the U.S. Dept. of Education, may be found at: Thomas, W.P., & Collier, V.P. (2002). A national study of school effectiveness for language minority students' long-term academic achievement. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence, University of California-Santa Cruz. http://repositories.cdlib.org/crede/finalrpts/1_1_final/ or http://crede.berkeley.edu/research/llaa/1.1_final.html
• Thomas, W.P., & Collier, V.P. (2000). Accelerated schooling for all students: Research findings on education in multilingual communities. In P. Gibbon (Ed.), Intercultural education in European classrooms. Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom: Trentham Books.
• The Thomas and Collier 1997 national research study summary may be found at: Thomas, W.P. & Collier, V.P. (1997a). School effectiveness for language minority students. National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE) Resource Collection Series, No. 9, December, 1997. http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/resource/effectiveness/
• Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (1999a). Developmental bilingual education. In F. Genesee (Ed.), Program alternatives for linguistically and culturally diverse students (pp. 19-24). Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence. http://www.cal.org/crede/pubs/edpractice/EPR1.pdf
• Collier, V.P. (1995). Promoting academic success for ESL students: Understanding second language acquisition for school. Woodside, NY: New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages - Bilingual Educators. To order: Bastos Educational Publications, P.O. Box 770-443, Woodside, NY 11377 or phone 800-662-0301; fax 718-997-6445. Journal Articles
• Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2004). The astounding effectiveness of dual language education for all. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 2(1), 1-20. http://njrp.tamu.edu/2004.htm http://njrp.tamu.edu/2004/PDFs/Collier.pdf
• Thomas, W.P. & Collier, V.P. (2003). The multiple benefits of dual language. Educational Leadership, 61(2), October 2003. http://www.ascd.org/cms/objectlib/ascdframeset/index.cfm?publication= http://www.ascd.org/publications/ed_lead/200310/toc.html
• Collier, V.P. & Thomas, W.P. (2002). Reforming education policies for English learners means better schools for all. The State Education Standard, 3(1), 30-36. (The quarterly journal of the National Association of State Boards of Education, Alexandria, VA). http://www.nasbe.org/Standard/Past.html [scroll down to Vol. 3, No. 1 (Winter 2002) issue]
• Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2001a). Educating linguistically and culturally diverse students in correctional settings. The Journal of Correctional Education, 52 (2), 68-73. http://www.easternlincs.org/correctional_education/articles/educating-linguist-collier.pdf
• Thomas, W.P., & Collier, V.P. (1999a). Accelerated schooling for English language learners. Educational Leadership, 56(7), 46-49. http://www.ascd.org/cms/objectlib/ascdframeset/index.cfm?publication http://www.ascd.org/publications/ed_lead/199904/toc.html
• Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (1999b, August/September). Making U.S. schools effective for English language learners, Part 1. TESOL Matters, 9(4), 1, 6. http://www.tesol.org/pubs/articles/1999/tm9908-01.html
• Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (1999c, October/November). Making U.S. schools effective for English language learners, Part 2. TESOL Matters, 9(5), 1, 6. http://www.tesol.org/pubs/articles/1999/tm9910-01.html
• Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (1999d, December/January). Making U.S. schools effective for English language learners, Part 3. TESOL Matters, 9(6), 1, 10. http://www.tesol.org/pubs/articles/1999/tm9912-01.html
• Thomas, W.P., & Collier, V.P. (1997b). Two languages are better than one. Educational Leadership, 55(4), 23-26. http://www.ascd.org/cms/objectlib/ascdframeset/index.cfm?publication= http://www.ascd.org/publications/ed_lead/199712/toc.html
• Collier, V.P. (1995). Acquiring a second language for school. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/directions/04.htm
• Collier, V.P. (1992). A synthesis of studies examining long-term language minority student data on academic achievement. Bilingual Research Journal, 16(1-2), 187-212. http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/nabe/brj/v16/16_12_collier.htm
• Collier, V.P. (1989). How long? A synthesis of research on academic achievement in second language. TESOL Quarterly, 23, 509-531. Available on CD-ROM from TESOL at: http://www.tesol.org/pubs/magz/tqd.html
• Collier, V.P. (1988). The effect of age on acquisition of a second language for school. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/classics/focus/02aage.htm
• Collier, V.P. (1987). Age and rate of acquisition of second language for academic purposes. TESOL Quarterly, 21, 617-641. Available on CD-ROM from TESOL at: http://www.tesol.org/pubs/magz/tqd.html

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