I am originally from El Paso, Texas, where I grew up bilingually and transnationally between El Paso, Texas and Cd. Juárez in Mexico. I am the daughter of Mexican parents and bilingual educators, and I attended elementary school in Mexico. In college, I studied psychology and quickly realized my passion was education. I obtained my teaching license and masters' degree from the Boston College, where I was part of the Donovan Urban Scholars Program. I began my teaching career as a bilingual teacher in Boston Public Schools, teaching 2nd grade within a TWI program. I then taught 4th grade in El Paso, Texas, until deciding to attend graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I have always had a passion for bilingualism, and for teaching and learning, and I am lucky enough to do it for a living!
Areas of Expertise
- Two-Way Immersion Bilingual Programs
- Gentrification and Bilingual Education
- Language Ideologies in Educational Contexts
- Ethnographic Research Methods
- Teacher Research/Practitioner Inquiry
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education May 2017 Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
- Master of Education, Curriculum and Instruction, with concentration in Teaching English Language Learners
- Donovan Urban Scholars Program, Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Boston, MA 2006
- Bachelor of Arts in Psychology Stanford University, Stanford, CA 2004
Resumes/CV:
Awards
- 2018 James E. Alatis Prize for Research on Language Planning and Policy in Educational Contexts
- 2018 Jolley Bruce Christman and Steven S. Goldberg Annual Award for Best Dissertation in Urban Education
- First Place, Outstanding Dissertation Award, AERA Bilingual Education Research SIG, 2018
- Spencer Fellowship Foundation/National Academy of Education (Dissertation Fellow 2015)
- Ford Fellowship Foundation (Dissertation Fellow 2016)
Research
My research investigates the social and cultural contexts in which bilingual teaching and learning take place. Specifically, I look at how race and class influence ideologies of language and bilingualism, and how this impacts perceptions of students’ language abilities as well as teaching practices. Related to this, I examine the experiences of students and families in bilingual, TWI programs, especially in urban contexts.
Publications and Presentations
- Chaparro, S. (2019) Leading Parallel Lives: School, Parents, and Community in a Gentrifying Two-Way Immersion Program. International Multilingual Research Journal.
- Chaparro, S. (2019). But mom! I don't want to be a Spanish Boy: Raciolinguistic Socialization in a Two Way Immersion Bilingual Program. Linguistics and Education.
- Flores, N & Chaparro, S. (2017). What Counts as Language Education Policy? Developing a Materialist Antiracist Approach to Language Activism. Language Policy. Pp. 1-20.
- Chaparro, S. (2016) Fresas, Nacos y Lo que le Sigue: Towards a Sketch of Two Mexican Emblematic Models of Personhood. Working Papers in Educational Linguistics. Vol. 31 (1). Pp. 43-68.