Sue Kasun

Sue Kasun teaches in the area of language development with English language learners. She taught sociocultural influences on learning at the University of Texas and ESL curriculum and methods courses at George Mason University.

Kasun taught and administrated in Mexican schools and then moved to the U.S. to work with immigrant students. In Fairfax County Public Schools, as a department chair she taught high school ESL with an emphasis on literacy and writing instruction, helped develop district-wide curriculum, and later joined Central Office staff to work with alternative schools in supporting ESL students. She identified a lack of understanding about the transnational experiences of immigrant students in public schools and became a doctoral student at the University of Texas, researching the ways of knowing of Mexican-origin transnational families.

A believer in the power of relationship building, Kasun worked to create school, university, and community partnerships while at the University of Texas, leading a schoolwide advisory program in a Title I urban middle school. She also facilitated the work of student teachers in urban education cohorts in Austin, Texas. She continues her research regarding the knowledge bases of transnational students, hopeful that U.S. public schools can better address immigrant students needs through deeper understanding of their students’ backgrounds. Other research includes teacher education in diverse settings and the application of critical multicultural education to teacher education.