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Colorado Bilingüe Summer Institute for Teachers
with Sofía Chaparro, PhD, and the Center for Applied Theatre
Bilingual educators, this experience is built for you. If you are looking for professional learning that reflects who you are and how you teach, this three-day program is a space to connect with other bilingual and dual-language teachers who share your realities and strengths. You will work alongside colegas who value language, culture, and community while sharpening instructional practices in both English and Spanish.
Across three interactive days, you will deepen pedagogical language skills, examine how bilingual identities influence teaching, and explore classroom practice through creative expression. Applied theatre activities and collaborative reflection will challenge you to think differently about instruction, voice, and engagement—and give you tools you can take directly back to your classroom. This is professional development that centers your experience and elevates bilingual teaching as powerful, purposeful, and transformative.
Audience: Bilingual teachers and bilingual teacher candidates
| The Details | |
| Dates | June 4 - 6, 2026 |
| Time | 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. |
| Cost | Free, including breakfast and lunch. |
| Location | CU Denver |
| Graduate Credits Available | 15 clock hours; one CU Denver graduate credit available (with additional work) |
FAQ
Q: Do I have to commit to attending all three days?
Yes, to get the full credit and to get the most of this experience, please attend all three days.
Q: I am bilingual, and I am a teacher, but I don’t teach in a bilingual school. Does this still apply to me?
Yes, even if you’re not in a bilingual education context now, this professional development experience will enrich your bilingual language skills and your understanding of bilingual pedagogy.
Q: I am bilingual and I am studying to become a teacher. Should I still attend even if I’m still in school?
Yes, this is meant for both practicing bilingual teachers and future bilingual teachers.
Q: I am bilingual pero no tanto. I can speak Spanish but I’ve never used it in an academic setting. Is this still for me?
Yes, our workshop will be conducted bilingually. One of the goals is to support bilingual language development for teachers to work on their own language goals.
Purpose & Outcomes
- An awareness of how your bilingual trajectory and experiences impact your teaching practices
- Confidence in putting your pedagogical English and Spanish into practice to support biliteracy development
- A community of like-minded bilingual maestres who are with you en la lucha.
- A renewed commitment to teaching bilingual students and why it matters, and the importance of who you are and what you bring to the teaching profession.
Sofía Chaparro, PhD
Facilitators
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!
Mark Weinberg (MFA, Ph.D. – University of Minnesota) is co-founder of The Center for Applied Theatre. He has 40 years of university experience teaching traditional and applied theatre and communication skills. Mark began his study of TO with Augusto Boal in 1992 and has conducted workshops and training sessions for educators, administrators, students, business leaders, theatres, NGOs and community organizations in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Austria. He has published and lectured widely on theatre and social activism and chronicled the development of collective theatre in his book Challenging the Hierarchy: Collective Theatre in the United States (Greenwood Press, 1992). He recently conducted theatre workshops on activism and commitment with students at the Hun School of Princeton, workshops which use Shakespeare to inspire young people to look at issues of family relationships, bullying, and self-advocacy in their own lives with Optimist Theatre, and a workshop on power, communication, and organizational structure with Arts at Large. He served on the PTO Board for nine years and was editor of the PTO Journal for three issues. A 7th Degree Black Belt in Karate, Mark taught leadership skills through the martial arts for 21 years. He is also a story-telling coach for Ex Fabula.
Mark Weinberg, MFA, PhD
Jenny Wanasek, B.F.A.
Jenny Wanasek (B.F.A. – UW-Milwaukee) is co-founder of the Center for Applied Theatre. Her training includes 10+ multi-day workshops in Theatre of the Oppressed with Augusto Boal, Beyond Racism and Ally Building with Healing Our Nation, and facilitator certification with The Virtues Project, in addition to her degree in acting. Her applied theatre work includes interactive projects, new play development, community building, and communication technique and problem-solving workshops for groups as diverse as PEARLS for Teen Girls, Milwaukee High School of the Arts, HIRE, UW-Milwaukee faculty and staff, and various NGOs and other service organizations. She has conducted TO training workshops all over the US and in Austria, has distinguished herself as both a director and actor in the professional theatre, and taught acting, directing, and TO techniques at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for twenty years. She is currently leading workshops on how to talk to children about race and racism and ones focused on Anti-racism and White Fragility for adults.
We have worked with groups creating Forum Theatre focused on many issues including bullying, immigration, running away, dropping out of school, social reintegration after incarceration, alcohol consumption and sexual harassment, pressure to have sex, oppressive pedagogy, coming out, workplace discrimination, intervention strategies, and community building. CAT’s other projects include development of a multi-media installation with public school students around the issues related to bullying and violence, workshops on making positive choices with elementary and middle school students and with first offenders at Project Excel, Fill the Gaps teaching artist residencies in six MPS schools, workshops at the UW-Milwaukee Institute of World Affairs as part of the Global Action Through Engagement (GATE) program, intervention strategy planning at De Paul University, online DEI workshops with Conner Prairie Museum and the UW-Madison MATCH program, and an online workshop at the international PPLG conference. CAT was in residence at two MPS schools conducting Virtues in Action programs using Theatre of the Oppressed to explore colonialism, racism, and community building. A list of some of our past projects can be seen here. You can read about one of the Image Theatre techniques developed by CAT for use in problem definition in Come Closer: Critical Perspectives on Theatre of the Oppressed (Lang, 2012).