Founder Series
Virtual Pen Pal Experience with Chicago Bilingual Teacher Pipeline
Spring 2025
We teamed up with National Louis University in Chicago for a virtual pen pal experience with a cohort of bilingual preservice educators, and it was a huge success! All April long, we’ll be dropping 6 sessions covering important topics in multilingual education. Stay tuned for insightful conversations you won’t want to miss!
Challenges, inspiration, motivation.
Alejandra asks: “What inspired you to create this resource for other students?”
Lesley digs deep: “What challenges did you face when you started ¡WEPA! líbros™—and how did you overcome them?”
Real stories. Real impact.
Noteworthy multilingual literature.
Héctor asks a powerful question: "What criteria do you use to define noteworthy multilingual literature?"
Does it shift based on a student's background — newcomer, heritage speaker, or simultaneous bilingual?
Let’s talk about what makes a story truly resonate across languages and lived experiences.
Family connection.
"Have there been moments when teachers or parents came to you for advice on how to incorporate more multilingual and multicultural books in school or at home?"
Spoiler: YES—all the time! Families and educators are hungry for authentic stories that reflect their communities, and we’re honored to support them.
From book fairs to bilingual bundles, this is the heart of what we do.
Overcoming bias.
Citlaly asks: “How do you open students’ biases to learning about other cultures if they don’t want to learn about them?”
Vero drops wisdom: Find parallel connections.
At ¡WEPA! líbros™, we believe stories are bridges — helping students see themselves in others and others in themselves.
The future.
Listen in to what our future goals are, and how that will expand the impact we have on communities nationwide.
Get involved.
Our final Virtual Pen Pal session is here! Future educators, this one’s for you!
Vero dives into real-world tips on advocacy, involvement, and how schools across the country are funding their multicultural collections.
Because creating inclusive libraries starts with bold voices like yours.
A token of appreciation to National Louis University in Chicago for this partnership, professors Jacki Rubio and Joao Goebel, and for the bold bilingual teacher pipeline whose voices are shaping classrooms, honoring heritage, and transforming education for generations to come.