I came to the US at the age of five; I only spoke Russian and never received any English language support services. Instead I was always pulled out for reading “remediation,” and I grew up convinced I was not smart. It wasn’t until I learned how bilingual education leverages home language literacy that I realized I wasn’t the problem. Instead, the way the system educated - or neglected to educate - emergent bilingual students was at fault.

The erasure of my home language from my schooling led me on a path of educating and advocating to make bilingual education the rule in schools, rather than the exception. This inspired me to co-author an accessible book for bilingual educators across grade levels and languages.