Professional Activities
Professional Activities
CUNY - New York State Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals (NYSIEB)
Associate Investigator (2013-2016) and Advisor
CUNY - New York State Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals (CUNY NYSIEB) works to improve the education of emergent bilingual students across New York State. It is a collaborative project of the Research Institute for the Study of Language in Urban Society (RISLUS) and the Graduate Center/CUNY Ph.D. Program in Urban Education, funded by the New York State Education Department and led by Drs. Ofelia García, Ricardo Otheguy and Kate Menken. The CUNY NYSIEB Project focuses on two principles and practices: (1) a multilingual ecology for the whole school, and (2) bilingualism as a resource in education.
Espinosa, C., Ascenzi-Moreno, L., Vogel, S. (2016). A Translanguaging Pedagogy for Writing. (PDF)
Classroom Practices for Multilingual Learners and English Language Learners and the Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards
New York State Department of Education. [Co PIs Dr. Patricia Velasco & Cecilia M. Espinosa, 2021]
The goal of this project is to describe and update pedagogies (PreK – 12th grade) that integrate the Next Generation Learning Standards (NGLS) with a curriculum that is linguistically appropriate, complex, relevant, and meaningful. The materials created (introductory document, video, instructional samples, and slide presentations) are useful to teachers of multilingual learners because these offer high-leverage practices for language learning, with a focus on how the home language is used to facilitate and more fully enhance the learning process. Funded by the New York State Education Department.
Initiative on Immigration & Education CUNY-IIE
Associate Investigator - CUNY - IIE Team
The City University of New York Initiative on Immigration and Education (CUNY-IIE) is a project funded by the New York State Department of Education that creates opportunities for educational stakeholders to learn from immigrant students, families, and educators directly impacted by restrictive immigration policies and educational inequality.
Computing Education Teacher Education (CITE)
Faculty Participant First Cohort 2022 - Present
“CUNY faculty and other participants in the CITE initiative are working together to answer the question: How do/might programs and colleges of education working within CUNY prepare educators to equitably and meaningfully integrate computing and digital literacies into public school classrooms?”
Bring Me A Book
Literacy Expert, Part of the Circle of Support at Samara Dual Language Community School at Bronx, NYC
Bring Me a Book serves as a catalyst for community literacy. We HELP CHILDREN GROW A READING HABIT, by providing books, choice, and family engagement—with sustained support from the public library. "Book Access, Reading agency, identity and choice are equity in action and are key to equity in reading."
Lehman College/CUNY, Bronx, NYC: Professional Activities
New York City Writing Project (NYCWP), Lehman College/CUNY – Affiliated Faculty
The New York City Writing Project is an organization of dedicated teachers committed to the improved teaching of literacy. The NYCWP believes that access to high-quality educational experiences is a basic right and a cornerstone of equity. Teachers in Writing Project programs experiment with active, inquiry-based approaches for using reading and writing across disciplines.
Institute for Literacy Studies at Lehman College/CUNY
Lehman College Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC)
Yearly Presentation of Lehman Faculty on Translanguaging
Editorial Roles
Journal of Multilingual Education Research (JMER)
Associate Editor at the Fordham University Editorial Board
Journal of Multilingual Education Research (JMER) is the official journal of the New York State Association for Bilingual Education. Its distinct orientation reflects what is most important to researchers, specialists, and educators in the fields of multilingualism and multilingual education.
The Bilingual Times New York State Association for Bilingual Education Newsletter
Editor (2021- Present)
New York State Association for Bilingual Education (NYSABE) - Publications
Work With Schools
Samara Dual Language Community School: Bronx, NYC
Lehman College/CUNY Professional Development Site (PDS) Liaison
Samara Dual Language Community School (Spanish/English) is an elementary school located in District 12, The Bronx. The school has a strong emphasis in the development of bilingualism/biliteracy, the arts, math, project–based learning, and a solid socio-emotional foundation for all learners. Lehman College/CUNY bilingual candidates are placed at Samara for their fieldwork and student teaching.
School in the Square: Upper Manhattan, NYC
Board Member (2021- 2022), Member Academic Committee (2021- Present)
School in the Square (S2) and Dual Language School – Dos Amigos engage, educate and empower students in Washington Heights and Inwood (New York City) to respond mindfully and creatively to life’s opportunities and challenges.
Children's Literature
The NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children - National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
Bank Street Award for Best Books in Spanish for Children
Bank Street - Committee Member (2020)
Consulting
Professional Development through NQC Literacy for Chicago Public School District on Translanguaging Literacies and Pedagogy with Luz Yadira Herrera and Joseph Rodriguez (Spring 2023)
What is translanguaging and why is it important for my family?: A primer (an introduction, a conversation, a dialogue with) for parents. International School Bankok with Laura Ascenzi-Moreno (Fall 2022)
Rooted in Strength - Professional Development at the International School in Genoa, Italy (Spring 2022)
Goddard College, Vermont Campus - External Reviewer Goddard College Education and Licensure Program (2009).