Rate My Professor Maria Bhattacharjee

Dr. Maria P. Bhattacharjee is an associate professor of urban education at the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), having joined the institution in 1996. She currently serves as the Program Director for Urban Education within the College of Public Service and was honored as a Faculty Teaching Fellow by the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) in 2018. Dr. Bhattacharjee, who holds an Ed.D., has made significant contributions to faculty governance at UHD, including terms on the Faculty Senate, the Student Research Conference Committee, and the Funded Faculty Leave Committee. Her dedication to education extends to collaborative initiatives, such as service-learning projects pairing education and natural sciences faculty.

Dr. Bhattacharjee's research and professional interests focus on bilingual education, technology-enhanced literacy, and community engagement for underserved Hispanic populations in Houston. As Director of the UHD Bilingual E-Library Program, she spearheads a transformative $2.47 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, partnering with Aldine Independent School District. The program transforms families' stories and aspirations into bilingual digital books, dramatically increasing parental involvement—by tenfold in pilot schools—and elevating student literacy and digital skills. Implemented in phases across seven elementary schools like Black and Bussey, it includes writing workshops, summer reading clubs emphasizing purposeful writing, and a YouTube channel offering training in English, technology, and entrepreneurship to foster workforce readiness. Motivated by her desire to recreate the joy of reading experienced by her own children for Hispanic students, Dr. Bhattacharjee teaches specialized courses including BED 4302 (Teaching Language Arts and Reading in Spanish), BED 4312 (Integrating Curriculum in a Bilingual/ESL Classroom), and READ 3308 (Literacy Curriculum, Methods, and Assessment in Spanish for EC-2). Her scholarly presentations include "Preservice Teachers Create E-Books for Inner-City Young Children" at EdMedia 2016, works on preparing preservice teachers for technology in language arts, and designing web-based digital video books for bilingual teachers. Through these efforts, Dr. Bhattacharjee significantly impacts Houston's educational landscape, addressing literacy challenges and promoting equity.