Interpreting Solidarity: Bilingual Teachers in New Latino South Spaces

Abstract

In metro Charlotte, North Carolina, dynamic newcomer Latinx communities have changed the demographics of K-8 education as the region has emerged as a new gateway for an influx of immigrants and migrants. Today, in what has come to be known as “the New Latino South,” K-12 teachers are eager to expand their knowledge base for working with this relatively new population. To that end, bilingual (Spanish/English) educators are increasingly tapped to serve as impromptu interpreters as monolingual administrators and teachers interact more frequently with Spanish dominant communities. Drawing from an in-depth interview sequence, the chapter narrates a Dominican-American's lived experience with simultaneous K-12-based interpreting as a K-12 student teacher, and a licensed early-grades educator. This chapter theorizes the layered emotional and professional advocacy of heritage-language bilingual school-based professionals and their agency in advancing access and equity to public resources with recommendations for policy and practice.