Alex Bernstein

Affiliation

University of Illinois Chicago

Biography

Alex Bernstein is a bilingual and special education specialist with over 20 years of experience supporting multilingual learners and students with disabilities in diverse educational settings. He has taught in psychiatric hospitals, served as a bilingual math teacher in Chicago Public Schools, and led both Special Education and English Learner Departments in suburban high schools. Alex currently works as a Bilingual Specialist at an alternative high school while pursuing a PhD in Literacy, Language, and Culture at the University of Illinois Chicago. His work centers on designing inclusive, trauma-informed programs that honor the full linguistic and neurodiverse identities of students. His research explores bilingual special education, DisCrit theory, and how emerging technologies like AI can create more accessible, adaptive learning environments for dual-identified students. Through his practice and scholarship, Alex advocates for systems that reject deficit frameworks and promote liberatory, restorative education for all learners.