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
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Chaparro, S., Schissel, J. & Klassen, C. (2021). The construction of bilingual ability through monoglossic literacy tests. Journal of Multilingual Theories & Practices. https://doi.org/10.1558/jmtp.19688
- Chaparro, S. (2021) Creating fertile grounds for a TWI program: gentrification, immigration, and neoliberal school reforms. Language Policy 20 (3) 435-461. DOI: 10.1007/s10993-020-09576-8
- Bernstein, K., Alvarez, A., Chaparro, S. & Henderson, K., (2021) “We live in the age of choice”: school administrators, school choice policies, and the shaping of dual language bilingual education." Language Policy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-021-09578-0
- Chaparro, S. (2020) Martín and the Pink Crayon: Peer language socialization in a Kindergarten bilingual classroom. International Journal of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2020.1786495
- Chaparro, S. (2020) Pero aquí se habla inglés: Latina immigrant mothers' experiences of migration, resistance, and pride in a bilingual Two-Way Immersion program. TESOL Quarterly 54 (3), 599-628. DOI: 10.1002/tesq.593
- Chaparro, S. (2020). School, parents and communities: leading parallel lives in a two-way immersion program. International Multilingual Research Journal 14 (1), 41-57. DOI: 10.1080/19313152.2019.1634957
- 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.