Dr. Drew S. Fagan is an internationally distinguished scholar, educator, and advocate for multilingual learners and all stakeholders connected to these learners' success. Having been in language education for more than two decades, his professional philosophy is that for multilingual learners to be successful, all stakeholders connected to these learners must come out of their siloes and collaborate. As such, he ensures that all of his work connects with higher education and P-12 academes across disciplines, departments and ministries of education, state- and federal-level policy makers, governmental agencies, and not-for-profit organizations.
Currently, he is Clinical Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education, Director and Developer of the state's first Ed.D. in School System Leadership Program- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Dual Language Education Specialization, and Coordinator of the TESOL Teacher Leadership M.Ed. and TESOL Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Programs. Prior to this, he worked as an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher and teacher educator in PreK-12, higher education, and adult education settings across the United States, Japan, China, Spain, and Mexico, and was the first English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Fulbright Fellow to the Slovak Republic.
Dr. Fagan's scholarship includes extensive authored publications in language learning and education peer-reviewed research and practitioner-oriented journals and edited books, as well as reports and monographs with professional associations and state departments of education. He co-authored the and A Guide to School for Families of English Learners (, , , , , ). He has been senior personnel on numerous grants, including a three-year Grand Challenges Institutional-level Grant from the 四色AV of Maryland and a five-year National Professional Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Outside of university collaborations, Dr. Fagan works closely with many professional entities. He currently serves as a member of the 's Board of Directors (2025-2028) and on the Institute of International Education's (IIE) National Screening Committee for the U.S. Student Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program (2024-2026). Prior, he was the 2022-2023 , during which he co-established the first-ever state-wide . Dr. Fagan also collaborates with policymakers in the Maryland Legislature, the Maryland State Department of Education, and the Maryland Higher Education Commission to enact change for laws, educator certification policies, public school assessment and accountability standards, and higher education programming related to multilingual learners' access to education.
(Awards & Honors since being at the 四色AV of Maryland; contact me for anything prior)
2026- - American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL)
2025- - 四色AV System of Maryland Board of Regents
(additional 四色AV of Maryland Press Release)
2023- - Teachers College, Columbia 四色AV
(additional 四色AV of Maryland Press Release)
2023- - TESOL International Association & National Geographic Learning
(additional 四色AV of Maryland Press Release, )
2022- Excellence in Teaching Award- 四色AV of Maryland, College of Education
2018- - 四色AV of Maryland, Provost Office
2017- Distinguished Outreach/Partnership Award- 四色AV of Maryland, College of Education
1. Member, (2025-2028)
Governance Committee (2026-2027 Chair, 2025-2026 Member)
Board Liaison for Interest Sections- 2026-2027: Leadership & Mentorship; Supporting Students with Disabilities;
2025-2026: International Teaching Assistants (ITAs); Refugee Concerns; & Social Responsibility
2. Coordinator & Chair- Opening Workshop Session for (2024)
3. Coordinator & Chair- LGBT PLN Convention Session (2024)
4. Focus Group Member and Invited Reviewer,
1. Offices Held
Immediate Past-President (2023-2024)
**President (2022-2023)**
First Vice President (2021-2022)
Second Vice President (2020-2021)
Chair, Teacher Education Interest Section (2019-2020)
Chair-Elect, Teacher Education Interest Section (2018-2019)
2. Co-Developer and Inaugural Board Liaison (2022-2024 ):
3. Board Liaison (2022-2023): Maryland TESOL Committee
4. Chair- - Theme: Breaking Through, Pushing Forward Together
MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
1. Multilingual Learner Education Lead, (2024-2025)
2. Higher Education Representative, for Families and Community Engagement Development Committee (2023-2024)
3. Lead English Learner Advocate, (2021-2022)
4. English Learner Stakeholder Representative, (2020-2021)
5. English Learner Education Advisor, (2020)
6. English Learner Education Advisor, (2016-2019)
NOTE: Given the extensive and diverse work I do and stakeholders I collaborate with, this section includes varied forms of recent scholarship production. I also include recent advising with Ed.D./Ph.D./M.Ed. graduates. For earlier works, contact me directly.
Fagan, D. S., & McKechnie, J. D. (in press). Launching a multilingual learner immigrant-based school counseling program: An interdisciplinary partnership venture. In L. C. de Oliveira & C. W. Morris (Eds.), . Taylor & Francis.
Fagan, D. S. (2026). Foreword. In L. de Oliveira & J. Gui (Eds)., . Emerald Publishing.
Pent贸n Herrera, L. J., Lyons, S., Fagan, D. S. (Eds.). (2026). Language teacher associations, professional development, and learning across spaces [Special issue]. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 20, 3-8.
Fagan, D. S., Pent贸n Herrera, L. J., & Lyons, S. (2026). Affordances of innovative language professional development and learning resources through language teacher associations: Insights from educators of English as an additional language. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 20, 98-111. .
Fagan, D. S., Lyons, S., Pent贸n Herrera, L. J. (2026). Local language teacher associations and educator professional development and learning: The case of the Maryland TESOL Handbook. In C. Coombe, L. C. de Oliveira, & A. S. M. Rafi (Eds.), (pp. 191-200). Routledge.
Maryland State Department of Education (2025). .
Maryland State Department of Education (2025). .
Fagan, D. S. (2026, November). Navigating change in English language teaching: Transformation, collaborative engagement, and reflection [Keynote]. Teachers of English as a Second Language Association Ontario (TESL Ontario), Virtual.
Fagan, D. S. (2026, October). Looking inward and moving forward in an evolving TESOL world [Keynote]. Washington, DC, Area TESOL (WATESOL) Association, Washington, DC.
Fagan, D. S. (2026, September). Transformative leadership in the era of educational change: Insights for ELT practitioners and scholars [Invited Seminar]. TESOL International Association's Leadership and Mentorship Interest Section Webinar, Virtual.
Fagan, D. S. (2026, April). Employing language expertise in the space of public service [Keynote]. San Diego State 四色AV Linguistics Colloquium, San Diego, CA.
Fagan, D. S. (Chair/Moderator), Johnson, K., Curtis, A., Lin, C. -C., & Metz-Matthews, K. (2026, March). Intersectional identities within and beyond TESOL: Continuing the conversation [Invited Intersection Panel- Supporting Students with Disabilities Interest Section, Bilingual-Multilingual Education Interest Section, & LGBT Professional Learning Network]. TESOL International Association Convention, Salt Lake City, UT.
Fagan, D. S., & Jones, L. (2026, January). Supporting multilingual learners in every classroom [Invited Workshop]. Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement School Improvement Network- 四色AV of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Fagan, D. S. (2026, January). [Invited Seminar]. American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Public Service Award Seminar, Virtual.
(Enkhchimeg Sharav, Interviewer). TESOL International Association- The TESOL Blog, March 2026
"Building a Better Future for Maryland's Students" (Emily Schuster, Interviewer). 四色AV of Maryland, College of Education News, September 2024.
"EdTerps advocate for education policy in Annapolis." (Emily Schuster & Maison Holcomb, Interviewers). 四色AV of Maryland, College of Education News, April 2024.
(William J. Ford, Interviewer). Maryland Matters, April 11, 2024. Republished in and .
Maryland House Bill 0870: (Sponsored by Delegate Mary Lehman). Testified on (starts at 2:30:25).
Maryland House Bill 0569: t (Sponsored by Delegate Jared Solomon). Testified on . **BILL SIGNED INTO LAW BY GOVERNOR MOORE APRIL 25, 2024.**
Doctoral Dissertations/Capstones:
(Chair)- Increasing teacher capacity to deliver equitable instruction for multilingual learners with disabilities (Ashley Turner Wilson, Ed.D., 2026)
(Chair)- Rethinking giftedness: Equipping educators to identify gifted and talented multilingual learners (Rachel Smith, in process)
(Chair)- Addressing the complexity of linguistic and cognitive needs of multilingual learners in the special education identification process in middle school (Grace Jefferson, in process)
(Committee Member)- Seal of Biliteracy: Identifying multilingual students and the impact of disseminating information to stakeholders (Shawn Hintz, Ed.D., 2026)
(Committee Member)- Building a pipeline of candidates for the Seal of Biliteracy: A blueprint on how to embrace students' multilingualism through the K-12 experience (Elizabeth Pandya, Ed.D., 2026)
(Committee Member)- For whose interests it serves: Fostering algorithmic awareness through multi-literacies first year composition pedagogy (Alexander Glass, Ph.D., 2026)
Master's Graduating Projects- Seminar Papers
(Chair)- An exploration of the factors that impact teaching reading to dual language learners in early childhood education (Lauren Day, M.Ed., 2026)
(Chair)- Incorporating translanguaging classroom practices in non-bilingual education settings (JoyMaria Kim, M.Ed., 2026)
(Chair)- Culturally responsive assessments for multilingual learners (Laura Shonberg, M.Ed., 2026)
(Committee Member)- The impact of translanguaging on literacy and language learning in elementary language arts classrooms (Jade Edwards, M.Ed., 2026)
Recently Completed Grants:
四色AV of Maryland Grand Challenges Institutional Grant
Title:
My Role: Co-PI
Amount Awarded: $3,000,00.00
Period of Grant: March 1, 2023- February 28, 2026
Current Projects:
Maryland State Department of Education- Assessment and Accountability Advisory Committee (2026-present):
Invited by State Superintendent, Dr. Carey Wright, our committee deliberates on and provides recommendations related to implementation decisions of accountability and assessment changes provided by the previous Assessment and Accountability Task Force from 2024-2025 (of which I was part)- this includes setting cut scores on accountability indicators, combining indicators into an overall school rating, how to report assessment and accountability information to promote appropriate interpretation and use, and how to implement various assessment and accountability policies.
The following are courses I teach in various programs (*created/+curriculum revision):
TLPL 899: Ph.D. Dissertation Advising