Spencer Salas

Spencer Salas, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Middle, Secondary, and K–12 Education at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he leads the PhD in Curriculum and Instruction Urban Literacies/TESL subconcentration. An award-winning District of Columbia Public School ESL teacher (1994–2001), he has been a Fulbright Fellow to Romania (1998), Guatemala (2007), and South Africa (2013); and, a frequent U.S. Department of State English Language Specialist (2003–present). His scholarship focuses on Black and Brown teachers’ lives and the potential of humanizing dignity and care as K–16 best practice.

Celebrating Juneteenth, Freedom, and Reading

Spencer Salas reflects on the origin and meaning of Juneteenth in the United States, and connects the celebration of the holiday to literacy and reading.

Author: Spencer Salas

“Chamorro” or “CHamoru”? Celebrating (and Spelling) Pacific Americans and Their Heritage

In honor of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, Spencer Salas writes about a recent visit to a portrait gallery with his father, and the politics and emotions of spelling.

Author: Spencer Salas

Reading Like a World Cup Champion: Three Things Messi Can Teach Us About Literacy Education

Spencer Salas shares a few thoughts about what Lionel Messi can teach us about literacy — and teaching literacy.  

Author: Spencer Salas

Taylor Swift, Global Literacies, and ELT: Are You Ready for It?

Reflecting on Women's History Month, Spencer Salas discusses Taylor Swift's global impact and reach, and how music can be read in different contexts and cultures.

Author: Spencer Salas

Reading Pablo Neruda (and Other Poetry) to Engage Multilingual Learners of English

Spencer Salas shares how he used the poetry of Pablo Neruda to connect with and engage his learners, who were primarily Salvadorean teenagers and immigrant newcomers.

Author: Spencer Salas

Reading “Boy”: Literacy as Cultural Dialogue

What does it mean when you call someone "boy"? It depends. Spencer Salas discusses the interaction of culture(s) and literacy and how we read words based on the specific communities of practice with which we identify.

Author: Spencer Salas

Reading the New Year(s): Calendars, Literacies, and Communities

How do you — and how do the families of your multilingual learners of English — define literacy? Spencer Salas shares a story about his childhood and how he learned to "read" two different calendars. 

Author: Spencer Salas

In Praise of Thanksgiving Leftovers and Reading Choices

Spencer Salas shares about holiday leftovers at his godparents’ house, increasing student reading motivation, and reading choices.

Author: Spencer Salas

Reading El Greco of Toledo and Home

For U.S. National Hispanic Heritage Month, Spencer Salas reflects on a painter of the Spanish Renaissance, El Greco, and what it means to read “home.”

Author: Spencer Salas

Reading a Gravel Driveway in Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA

Spencer Salas writes about his childhood in a place rich with history, the discovery of texts about the past, and all the places you can find history as a contemporary reader — if you look for it.

Author: Spencer Salas

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