Sonia W. Soltero is professor of Bilingual Education in the Department of Leadership, Language, and Curriculum, where she has served as department chair and director of the Bilingual-Bicultural Education graduate program. Her professional background includes roles as a bilingual education teacher and dual language coordinator in the Tucson Unified School District—serving the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation—as well as in the Chicago Public Schools.
Soltero’s scholarly work focuses oen bilingual and dual language education, biliteracy, and Latino education. Her publications, published in English, Spanish, and French, include numerous articles, book chapters, research briefs, and three books:
Dual Language Education: Program Design and Implementation,
School-Wide Approaches to Educating English Language Learners, and
Dual Language: Teaching and Learning in Two Languages.
Soltero has dedicated over thirty-five years to the field of dual language and bilingual education, serving as a dual language teacher, university professor, researcher, professional developer, and advocate. She is the co-founder and current co-chair of the English Learners Advocacy Council in Higher Education (ELACHE), a Board member of Advance Illinois, and a member of the National Committee on Effective Literacy. Soltero has also been appointed or invited to numerous state, national, and international commissions and advisory councils. Her extensive expertise encompasses the design and implementation of bilingual and dual language education programs, biliteracy development, and Latino education. She has collaborated with more than 100 schools and 40 school districts, as well as governmental education agencies across the United States and internationally.
Education
- PhD, Bilingual Education and Literacy, University of Arizona
Courses Taught
- BBE 402 Designing Language Programs
- BBE 406/316 Sociopolitical & Historical Perspectives in Bilingual Education
- BBE 425/325 Biliteracy Practices in Bilingual Education and ESL
- BBE 466/366 First and Second Language Acquisition
- BBE 524/324 Methods of Teaching ESL
- BBE 530/330 Latinos and Education
- BBE 404 Child Rearing Across Cultures
- T&L 412 Emergent Reading and Language Arts
- T&L 413 Reading and Language Arts in the Middle Grades
- LSE 258 Education and Social Justice
Research Interests
Dual language and bilingual education; Latino education; Language policy
Selected Publications
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Soltero, S. (2023).
A framework for success: Dual language education building blocks. In J.A. Freire, C. Alfaro, & E.J. de Jong (Eds.)
The handbook of dual language bilingual education. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
- Herrera, S., Martinez, M., Olsen, L., & Soltero, S. (2022).
Early literacy development and instruction for dual language learners in early childhood education. National Committee for Effective Literacy for Emergent Bilingual Students.
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Soltero, S. (2018).
Enseignement supérieur réciproque: Immersion bilingual basée sur le contenu au niveau post-secondaire. Dans H. Knoerr, A. Weinberg & C. Buchanan (Dir.) Enjeux actuels de l’immersion universitaire. Presses de l’Université d’Ottawa.
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Soltero, S. W. (2016).
Dual language education: Program design and implementation. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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Soltero, S. & Soltero, J. (2014).
Deserción escolar y apoyo a la educación bilingüe entre los mexicanos de Chicago. In
C. Leco, M. A. Beltrán-Vocal, T. Martínez Ruiz, and J. Lazú (Eds.) Latin@/American images: Transnational identities. Imágines Latinas y Latinoamericanas: Identidades transnacionales. Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo y Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
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Soltero, S. W., & Soltero, J. (2017).
Citizenship, language, education and poverty among Mexican migrants in Chicago. Ciudadanía, idioma, educación y pobreza entre los migrantes mexicanos en Chicago. CIMEXUS: Revista de Investigaciones.
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Soltero, S. (2018).
Dual language higher education: Post-secondary discipline-based bilingual immersion. In H. Knoerr, A. Weinberg & C. Buchanan (Eds.)
Current issues in University-level immersion. University of Ottawa Press.
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Soltero, S. W., Garibay-Mulattieri, K. & Vonderlack-Navarro, R. (2019).
What every school leader needs to know about English Learners. Illinois School Board Journal.
Professional Organizations
- Board Member - National Association for Bilingual Education Executive Board of Directors
- Board Member - Advance Illinois
- Co-Founder and Co-Chair - English Language Advocacy Council in Higher Education (ELACHE)
- Member - Illinois Early Learning Council, Committee on Linguistic and Cultural Diversity