Demonstrates how educators and policymakers should treat the intertwined nature of immigrant education and social progress in order to improve current policies and practices.
Offering a much-needed dialogue about Latino demographic change in the United States and its intersections with P—20 education, US Latinization provides discussions that help move beyond the outdated idea that Mexican and Spanish (language) are synonyms. This nativist logic has caused "Mexican rooms" to re-emerge in the form of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) transitional programs, tagging Latinos as "Limited English Proficient" in ways that contribute to persisting educational gaps. Spencer Salas and Petro R. Portes bring together voices that address the social and geographical nature of achievement and that serve as a theoretical or methodological resource for educational leaders and policy makers committed to access, equity, and educational excellence.
Spencer Salas is Associate Professor of Middle, Secondary, and K—12 Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. At the University of Georgia, Pedro R. Portes is Professor and Goizueta Foundation Distinguished Chair in Latin Teacher Education and Executive Director of the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE). Together, they are the coeditors of Vygotsky in 21st Century Society: Advances in Cultural Historical Theory and Praxis with Non-Dominant Communities and U.S. Latinos and Education Policy: Research-based Directions for Change (with Patricia Baquedano-López and Paula J. Mellom).
