Honoring Dr. Margarita Espino Calderón’s Inaugural Inductee into the Multilingual Education Hall of Fame

Summit K12 is proud to announce the inaugural class of the Multilingual Education Hall of Fame created to recognize pioneers and leaders who have significantly shaped the field of multilingual learner education. Read more here!

By
Amelia Larson
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Dr. Margarita Espino Calderón’s induction into the inaugural Multilingual Education Hall of Fame is a momentous celebration—and for good reason. As a trailblazer, researcher, coach, and advocate, she’s reshaped the field of multilingual education for over five decades. 

A Legacy of Impact

Born and raised in Juárez, Dr. Calderón rose to become Professor Emerita and Senior Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University. Her prolific career includes more than 100 publications, spanning books, scholarly articles, and book chapters—deepening our understanding of language, literacy, and second-language pedagogy 

She’s championed transformative professional development through landmark projects like:

  • BCIRC (Bilingual Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition)
  • ExC-ELL (Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners)

These initiatives have empowered educators in subject-area and ESL settings to seamlessly blend content and language instruction in middle and high schools across the U.S. 

Breaking Down the Wall: Essential Shifts for English Learners' Success is a book to be celebrated because it means we can throw away the dark glasses of deficit-based approaches and see children who come to school speaking a different home language for what they really are: learners with tremendous assets.Funded by prestigious organizations such as the U.S. Department of Education, NIH, Department of Labor, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, her research has left a lasting imprint on teaching practices and systems.

Honored Among the Pioneers

The National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) 2024 Conference served as the backdrop for a landmark moment in multilingual education -the induction of the Inaugural Class of the Multilingual Education Hall of Fame , presented by Summit K12. This new honor recognized 12 trailblazers whose research, advocacy, and leadership have shaped the field of bilingual and multilingual education.

Dr. Calderón was inducted alongside luminaries such as Lily Wong Fillmore, Jim Cummins, Stephen Krashen, Margo Gottlieb, and others—recognizing those whose work laid the foundation for today’s multilingual learners.

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Dr. Calderón’s induction is more than a personal milestone—it’s a symbol of multilingual learners and educators finally having their voices and journeys celebrated. It reminds us:

  • That blending language, literacy, and content isn't optional—it’s essential.
  • That strong coaching and professional learning communities are key to sustainable educational change.
  • That honoring pioneers fuels ongoing innovation and advocacy.

Join the Celebration!

To educators, policymakers, researchers, families, and students: This honor belongs to all of us. It’s an invitation to:

  • Advocate for integrated language-content instructional models
  • Support robust, schoolwide professional learning programs
  • Center multilingual learners’ rights, identities, and academic futures
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Margarita Espino Calderón is a force for equity, quality, and innovation in multilingual education. Her inclusion in the inaugural Hall of Fame honors her 50+ years of transformative work. May her example inspire us: to teach better, coach wiser, advocate louder, and celebrate multilingual learners louder than ever.

Here’s to Dr. Calderón—and to every educator and learner she’s touched. The Hall of Fame is richer, and so is our field, thanks to her vision and tenacity.