Background

Sonia Nieto was born on September 25, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, United States. She is a daughter of Federico and Esther (Mercado) Cortes.

Education

Sonia Nieto studied at St. John's University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education in 1965. Later she entered New York University and had a graduate program in Spain, as a result, she received a Master of Arts degree in Spanish and Hispanic Literature in 1966. Nieto studied at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and received a Doctor of Education degree in 1979.

Later in life, Sonia Nieto received honorary doctorates from Lesley University, Bridgewater State College, DePaul University, Syracuse University, Rhode Island College and Ottawa University.

Career

Sonia Nieto started her career as a teacher of English, Spanish and French at Junior High School 278 Marine Park in 1966. She left this post in 1968 and became a teacher of English at the Spanish-American Institute where she worked for one year. In 1970, Nieto became a curriculum specialist at P.S. 25 Bilingual School. In 1972 she took up a post of an instructor and deputy chairperson of the Department of Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College. She left this post in 1975 and then became a teaching assistant at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 1979, she was appointed a Lau Coordinator and in 1980 she became an assistant professor and teacher-trainer.

Nieto served as an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst from 1983 to 1988. She also worked as an associate director from 1987 to 1990 and as an associate professor from 1988 to 1993. In 1989 Nieto became a director of the Cultural Diversity and Curriculum Reform Program at the University of Massachusetts and held this post until 1992. She worked as a professor of Language, Literacy, and Culture at the University of Massachusetts from 1993 to 2005. Sonia Nieto also has been a Visiting Scholar at various universities in the United States, as well as in Puerto Rico and Spain.

Sonia Nieto wrote her first book Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education in 1992. Later she wrote such books as The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities, Puerto Rican Students in U.S. Schools, Language, Culture, and Teaching and What Keeps Teachers Going?. Her latest book Teaching, A Life's Work: A Mother-Daughter Dialogue was published in 2019. Nieto has also written dozens of book chapters and articles in such journals as The Harvard Education Review, Educational Leadership, Language Arts, and The New Educator, among others.

Achievements

• Sonia Nieto is an American educator and writer who is famous for her books about education and multiculturalism. Her most famous books are The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities, Brooklyn Dreams: My Life in Public Education and What Keeps Teachers Going?
  
  Sonia Nieto received numerous awards for her scholarly work, teaching and activism. She also received 8 honorary doctorates. In 1991, she received the Pioneering Work in Bilingual Education Award and the Outstanding Accomplishment in Higher Education Award. In 1994, Nieto received the Point of Excellence Award. In 2012 she was selected as the Wits-Claude Distinguished Scholar at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Nieto was awarded the Medal for Distinguished Service in 2014.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Teaching, A Life's Work: A Mother–Daughter Dialogue

    (A must-read for new teachers and seasoned practitioners, ...)

    2019
  • Puerto Rican Students in U.S. Schools

    (This volume – the first edited book on the education of P...)

    2000
  • Brooklyn Dreams: My Life in Public Education

    (In Brooklyn Dreams, Sonia Nieto—one of the leading author...)

    2015
  • What Keeps Teachers Going?

    (What helps great public school teachers persevere – in sp...)

    2003
  • Why We Teach Now

    (At a time when politicians, policymakers, and philanthrop...)

    2005
  • Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education, Fourth Edition

    (In Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Mul...)

    1992
  • Dear Paulo: Letters from Those Who Dare Teach

    (Dear Paulo: Letters from Those Who Dare Teach is a heartf...)

    2008
  • Language, Culture, and Teaching

    (Distinguished multiculturalist Sonia Nieto speaks directl...)

    2001
  • Finding Joy in Teaching Students of Diverse Backgrounds: Culturally Responsive and Socially Just Practices in U.S. Classrooms

    (One in four public school students in the U.S. now speaks...)

    2013
  • The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities 1999

Views

Quotations: "I write on the issues about which I am most passionate: the education of children and young adults, especially those who have been historically neglected by our schools; that is, young people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and those who live in poverty. The reasons for my steadfast interest in these issues are many, including my own experiences as a child, my education and training, and my life as a teacher, mother, and grandmother."

"My purpose in writing is to use my research and that of others to broaden the perspectives of educators, and indeed of citizens in general, about diversity. I am convinced that differences are not the problem; the problem resides in the negative perceptions concerning culture, race, gender, and language that are deeply embedded in our history. In my writing, I address this problem and focus my attention on the positive role that teachers and schools can play in teaching students of all backgrounds to high levels of achievement."

Membership

Sonia Nieto is a member of the National Association for Bilingual Education, American Educational Research Association, National Council of Teachers of English and National Conference on Research in Language and Literacy.

Connections

Sonia Nieto married Angel Nieto on January 4, 1967. The marriage produced two children.

Father:

Federico Cortes

Mother:

Esther Mercado

husband:

Angel Nieto

Daughter:

Alicia Nieto Lopez

Daughter:

Marisa Nieto McKnight