En Comunidad: Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students

From teaching in NYC public schools to doctoral work at the Graduate Center, CUNY to writing partners and hermanas en la lucha with Dr. Luz Yadira Herrera! So happy to finally share En Comunidad: Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students.  

We’ve been moved by our bilingual Latinx students’ stories from our K-12 teaching and school visits. We listened deeply and sometimes saw our own journeys reflected in theirs. We grew so much as our ideas about teaching and Latinx identities expanded.

We reflected on our paths from Mexico, Chile, New York, and California. Moments from teaching in teacher preparation programs kept tugging at our hearts. We asked, “what can we do to honor bilingual Latinx children,” “how can we best support their teachers?” 

We’re so thankful for the families, learning experiences and communities that sustain us. We can’t wait for this book to be in the hands of teachers who teach bilingual Latinx children, coaches and admin that plan with them, and faculty in teacher ed programs! 

We’ve received so much love from readers of early copies! You can read their reviews below. It means so much to us to share En Comunidad with you all! From the encouragement of our mentor, Dr. Ofelia García to write together, to the support from Heinemann Publishing and our editor, we really have been surrounded by love for this project.

Reviews for En Comunidad

Written in a highly vivid, personal, frequently poignant, engaging approach, this masterful text successfully bridges the systemic, harmful divide between the way that bilingual children communicate and the way that teachers teach.  Premised on a borderlands perspective and pedagogy, the bilingual education teacher’s dual task of dismantling monolingual supremacy and restoring children’s full humanity under a system of oppression is truly within reach.  Kudos to authors Carla España and Luz Yadira Herrera for this inspired text! —Angela Valenzuela, professor in the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Subtractive Schooling:  U.S.-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring and Growing Critically Conscious Teachers: A social justice curriculum for educators of Latino/a youth“

Here’s our book, at last! España and Herrera’s engaging narrative, and the voices of teachers and students, remind us that we are en comunidad when we express our care, love, and understanding for emergent bilingual learners of Spanish, English, and all world languages. En Comunidad confirms that students possess intellect, creativity, and imagination across their language assets and repertoires. We educators were waiting for España and Herrera as our colleagues, guides, and seers, and they’re here at last. Thank you for guiding us further in our journeys toward literacy, libertad, and equity through your humane work, vision, and practices.”—R. Joseph Rodríguez, author of Enacting Adolescent Literacies across Communities: Latino/a Scribes and Their Rites

“Somehow this book manages to be at once deeply personal and profoundly practical all at the same time.  Carla and Luz weave their own stories as Latinx educators and students with concrete, transformative suggestions for making all students feel welcome, honored, and supported in our schools. Each year there is one book that comes out that makes me wish I could go back to my first year teaching and do it all over again – to do it better. This is the book for me this year. How I wish I had had Carla and Luz in my ear, and how glad I am they are here for you now.” —Kate Roberts, author of A Novel Approach: Whole-Class Novels, Student-Centered Teaching, and Choice

“This book centers around how to empower minoritized Latinx students as learners by helping them value their own language, their own history, their own community and themselves in a system that has marginalized them for centuries.  En Comunidad is not just for Latinx students  or teachers who teach Latinx students,  but for all American students and teachers who desire to bring real democracy to this country and make this world justice for all people.  This is indeed a wonderful book.”— Danling Fu, Professor of Language and Literature in the College of Education, University of Florida

“In this incredible book, Carla and Luz remind us that, like in all good teaching, the most effective classrooms place students at the center of teaching and learning. In a mix of critical pedagogy and inspirational practice, they demonstrate ways to build curriculum around students' lives, to avoid the trap of monolithic thinking, and to trust—truly trust—students to fill in knowledge gaps (including our own) through shared discussion and inquiry. Carla and Luz guide us to consider: when classrooms are shared spaces, when children teach as much as they learn, we, as a community, can thrive.”—Chris Lehman, coauthor of Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts—and Life

 “Dr. Espana and Dr. Herrera hit a home-run. Together they beautifully bridge the gaps between theory, policy, practice, and personal experience. Their work evokes untold Latinx histories, and offers culturally sustaining pedagogical approaches to classroom practice. It’s clear this work is not only about sustaining Latinx raciolinguistic ways being, rather it’s also about sustaining researchers and classroom practitioners as well. This work reminds us that we are here and we belong.”— Steven Arenas, English Teacher and Recipient of the NCTE 2016 Early Career Educator of Color Leadership Award

“In this book, grounded in research and lifted by story, Carla and Luz provide compelling rationales and practical ideas for valuing students’ and colleagues’  linguistic repertoires and identities. As a monolingual teacher, this book exponentially expanded my growing understanding of best practices for teaching all children and for building inclusive and appreciative learning communities in which everyone is seen, heard, and valued.”—Kathy Collins, coauthor of I Am Reading: Nurturing Young Children’s Meaning Making and Joyful Engagement With Any Book

 “This book is a radical departure from every other professional development book I’ve read about teaching about emergent bilinguals. Carla and Luz's embrace of each student they work with and their staunch belief that every child brings an abundance of value to our classrooms, not in spite of, but because of their linguistic heritage, feels revolutionary in this day and age. Then they went one step further and made those ideals tangible by providing engaging, practical lessons about language, identity and literacy. Every educator who reads this book will be changed by it. And perhaps most importantly, so will our students.”—Colleen Cruz, author of The Unstoppable Writing Teacher: Real Strategies for the Real Classroom

 “As a scholar who seeks to challenge racial and linguistic hierarchies in the education of Latinx children, the most common question that I receive from teachers and administrators is how they can work to dismantle these hierarchies in their day-to-day practice. Now the answer has become more simple: En Comunidad. In this book, España and Herrera treat seriously the idea that the cultural and linguistic practices of Latinx children are legitimate and should be made central to their educational experiences. It is a must read for all educators who work with Latinx students.”—Nelson Flores, Ph.D., Penn Graduate School of Education

“En Comunidad pushes beyond the common notions of learning language, using language, or having language. Authors España and Herrera send the invitation to live language. When we are safe to live our languages inside classroom spaces, we can live a more represented, connected and liberated life. And I can't imagine a greater gift to give students. Thank you, Carla and Luz, for writing a book that not only offers an insightful course on language, but helps us take the power off the page and into the classroom with a series of researched, dynamic lessons.”—Maggie Beatty Roberts, coauthor of DIY Literacy: Teaching Tools for Differentiation, Rigor, and Independence

“Have you ever wondered what bilingual education would look like if it were intentionally designed to sustain the rich practices and identities of Latinx children, families, and communities? If so, you will definitely want to read En Comunidad. In this engaging book, you will be introduced to a critical bilingual literacies approach to curriculum and teaching. Intentionally centering bilingual Latinx voices, values, practices, and experiences, this approach invites us to consider robust pathways for engaging in teaching that honors bilingual Latinx students’ full identities. En Comunidad offers us powerful lessons for transforming the education of bilingual Latinx students in the pursuit of justice.”—Mariana Souto-Manning, Teachers College, Columbia University