Sarah Hesson

Sarah Hesson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Rhode Island College and serves as Director of the TESL Program. Her academic journey includes a PhD in Urban Education from The Graduate Center, CUNY, a Master’s in Bilingual Childhood Education from Fordham University, and a BA in Comparative Literature from Bryn Mawr College.

Her research focuses on:

• School experiences of Latino adolescent youth
• Translanguaging as social justice pedagogy
• Policy and pedagogy for emergent bilinguals
• Raciolinguistic analyses
• Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)

Recent publications emphasize language policy, translanguaging frameworks, and collaborative advocacy. She has received prestigious awards including the Enhanced Chancellor’s Fellowship (CUNY Graduate Center, 2011-2016) and grants for social justice curriculum institutes.