Connecting School and the Multilingual Home

Maria R. Coady is Irving and Rose Fien Endowed Professor and Associate Professor of ESOL/Bilingual Education at the University of Florida, USA. She has worked extensively in rural multilingual settings. She is director of Project STELLAR (Supporting Teachers and Educators of English Language Learners Across Rural Settings) and has taught English in the USA and abroad. She has also directed a rural biliteracy development project, Libros de Familia, with multilingual families.

• IntroductionChapter 1.  Multilingual Family Engagement in Rural Settings: Context of the 21st CenturyChapter 2. Framing the Issues: A ‘Strengths-Based Approach’ to Family EngagementChapter 3. Family-Centered Differentiated EngagementChapter 4. Praxis and Practice: Becoming Aware of Multilingual Families in Rural SettingsChapter 5. Praxis and Practice: Acting to Engage Multilingual Families in Rural SchoolsChapter 6. The Intersectionality of Rurality and Immigration for Latino Families in The United StatesChapter 7. The Community Partner (With Robin Lewy and Fran Ricardo, The Rural Women’s Health Project)Chapter 8. Conclusions for 21st Century Multilingual Family Engagement

Reading this book gives me hope. Rural multilingual families are challenged in so many ways: from encountering steady jobs, to locating health services they can understand, to being able to attend (at worst), and participate fully (at best) in school. This book highlights action, strengths, and engagement opportunities for rural multilingual families in school through non-traditional, culturally and linguistically responsive, and equitable ways. It is a long-needed resource.