The Future of Education
Beatrix Preusse-Burr
Institution: Fairfax County Public Schools & VADLEN - Virginia Dual Language Education Network
Address: 8270 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive
Postal Code: VA 22031
Country: United States
Beatrix Preusse-Burr is a leader in dual language immersion and global education, recognized for her exceptional contributions to language learning and intercultural competence development. She has been an educator for over 30 years and her teaching experience spans from early elementary to the university levels. She currently serves as World Language Specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), the largest school division in Virginia with approximately 181,000 students, where she is leading the division’s K-12 dual language immersion (DLI), Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) programs, as well as the Global Classroom Project’s Language Acquisition and Intercultural Competence pathway. She supports IB, Dual Enrollment, Advanced Placement and world language programs in American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Beatrix earned an undergraduate degree in German/English Linguistics and Literature and Pedagogy from Martin Luther University, Halle, Germany, a Master’s degree in German Language and Literature from The Ohio State University and continued her post-graduate work in educational leadership and administration at the University of Virginia. She holds a certificate in Dual Language Immersion Leadership from the Center for Applied Linguistics.
Beatrix's leadership extends far beyond her district. As an expert in dual language immersion and global education, instructional and assessment design, and organizational and professional development, she has coached many school leaders and teachers in dual language immersion program development, sustainable implementation, and program assessment. She has led workshops and invited symposia at international, national, state, and local conferences. Most recent topics include: Power-Up Immersion: Biliteracy and Intercultural Competence Through Global Action (2022), Leading Successful Dual Language Immersion Programs (2022), Preparing Immersion Teachers for the Realities of Classroom Instruction (2021). She has worked on legislation instituting a dual language teaching license and anchoring dual language immersion education as an approved program for English Learners in the state of Virginia. She was a lead contributor on the Virginia Dual Language Immersion Education implementation guidance document, Standards of Learning development, and served on the Virginia Dual Language Licensure steering committee.
Recognized as a respected leader in the field, Beatrix has taken on multiple organizational roles. She is co-founder and President of the Virginia Dual Language Educators Network (VADLEN), where she established an annual state-wide dual language immersion conference focused on teacher professional learning and networking. She currently serves as Vice-President for Global Virginia, has served as president of the Virginia Organization of World Language Supervisors (VOWLS) and held various positions on the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) board. She also collaborates with governmental and non-governmental agencies to facilitate student-led international authentic collaboration projects based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in support of language acquisition and local/global action.
Her dedication and expertise have earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Helen Warriner-Burke FLAVA Distinguished Service Award and the FCPS Outstanding Leadership Award for Innovation. Driven by her commitment to innovation and educational transformation through dual language and global education programming, she combines her skills in multilingual literacy development, global education, authentic project-based learning, and Improvement Science to create transformative inclusive multilingual, global educational experiences for students and empowers teachers to excel in their craft. Beatrix’s passion for dual language and global education continues to shape the field, inspiring educators and fostering linguistic and intercultural competence in students by collaborating and problem-solving across cultural and linguistic differences, driving institutional change to propel internationally minded education for all.
Areas of expertise: Dual Language Immersion Education, Language Acquisition and Global Education, Assessment and Evaluation, Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership, Educational Innovation, Professional Development for Administrators and Teachers, Language Teaching and Learning, Improvement Science, Multiliteracy Development
Beatrix earned an undergraduate degree in German/English Linguistics and Literature and Pedagogy from Martin Luther University, Halle, Germany, a Master’s degree in German Language and Literature from The Ohio State University and continued her post-graduate work in educational leadership and administration at the University of Virginia. She holds a certificate in Dual Language Immersion Leadership from the Center for Applied Linguistics.
Beatrix's leadership extends far beyond her district. As an expert in dual language immersion and global education, instructional and assessment design, and organizational and professional development, she has coached many school leaders and teachers in dual language immersion program development, sustainable implementation, and program assessment. She has led workshops and invited symposia at international, national, state, and local conferences. Most recent topics include: Power-Up Immersion: Biliteracy and Intercultural Competence Through Global Action (2022), Leading Successful Dual Language Immersion Programs (2022), Preparing Immersion Teachers for the Realities of Classroom Instruction (2021). She has worked on legislation instituting a dual language teaching license and anchoring dual language immersion education as an approved program for English Learners in the state of Virginia. She was a lead contributor on the Virginia Dual Language Immersion Education implementation guidance document, Standards of Learning development, and served on the Virginia Dual Language Licensure steering committee.
Recognized as a respected leader in the field, Beatrix has taken on multiple organizational roles. She is co-founder and President of the Virginia Dual Language Educators Network (VADLEN), where she established an annual state-wide dual language immersion conference focused on teacher professional learning and networking. She currently serves as Vice-President for Global Virginia, has served as president of the Virginia Organization of World Language Supervisors (VOWLS) and held various positions on the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) board. She also collaborates with governmental and non-governmental agencies to facilitate student-led international authentic collaboration projects based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in support of language acquisition and local/global action.
Her dedication and expertise have earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Helen Warriner-Burke FLAVA Distinguished Service Award and the FCPS Outstanding Leadership Award for Innovation. Driven by her commitment to innovation and educational transformation through dual language and global education programming, she combines her skills in multilingual literacy development, global education, authentic project-based learning, and Improvement Science to create transformative inclusive multilingual, global educational experiences for students and empowers teachers to excel in their craft. Beatrix’s passion for dual language and global education continues to shape the field, inspiring educators and fostering linguistic and intercultural competence in students by collaborating and problem-solving across cultural and linguistic differences, driving institutional change to propel internationally minded education for all.
Areas of expertise: Dual Language Immersion Education, Language Acquisition and Global Education, Assessment and Evaluation, Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership, Educational Innovation, Professional Development for Administrators and Teachers, Language Teaching and Learning, Improvement Science, Multiliteracy Development
