Small, brave choices in bilingual education
Pre-script: This blog post explores the tensions that arise at the intersection of bilingual education and the phenomena of gentrification. For this reason, this post does not reflect all bilingual programs and contexts, which means it might not resonate for some of you. As a bilingual scholar and thought leader, I am increasingly asked to weigh in on how to support students and their families with the shifting demographics of their school communities.
As a professor at an urban state-funded school that credentials teacher candidates (TCs) to enter the workforce, I was tasked with supervising field placements for those seeking a bilingual endorsement. Obtaining a doctorate in bilingual education at the local Big-Name University coupled with my decade of experience as a rank-and-file teacher, I felt up to the challenge.
However, during my first two years placing my TCs in Dual Language bilingual classrooms, I was flummoxed to find the sea of white student faces staring up at me. My TCs turned to me like, “I thought this was a bilingual classroom”. 🤔 It dawned on me that the onslaught of gentrification in these historically Latinx neighborhoods had shifted the student demographics in the public school system such that my lived experience in bilingual education reflected a different reality than the one my TCs faced today.
This new demographic reality presented new challenges for their mentor teachers, who modeled some troubling teaching practices for my TCs. For example, their mentors would routinely default to English in order to accommodate their White, English-dominant students who were (understandably) struggling to comprehend the material. Far worse, it seemed no administrators were monitoring the teacher’s fidelity to an equitable allocation of language. Although language allocations have historically suffered a slippery slope, in my experience, it would slip the other way (into the LOTE: Language Other Than English) to accommodate the English Learners. It’s like a bizarro-world in Bilingual Education.
Whenever I cringe, I take a moment to say: “yep… blind spots are so tricky precisely because they are invisible to the speaker! How can I leverage my own ABAR journey in a way that supports them to acknowledge their misconceptions with grace and courage?” 
We are facing a new era of Bilingual Education, where classrooms are bilingual “in-name-only”. Gentrification and well-meaning Progressives occupying urban public schools are only a part of the story: English testing and accountability forces coupled with the pressure to address learning delays for our most vulnerable populations (h/t CoVID) only exacerbates the dilemma. I wonder: how can I successfully apprentice new bilingual teachers into a field ravaged by a litany of systemic forces? And how might I support administrators to make small, brave choices that lead to more equitable language practices?How can I successfully apprentice new bilingual teachers into a field ravaged by a litany of systemic forces?
And how might I support administrators to make small, brave choices that lead to more equitable language practices?
Like any complex and nuanced problem, we need to tackle linguistic inequality across educational stakeholders. What follows are action steps for three primary actors in the bilingual ed arena: teachers, administrators and parents for whom English is the home language.
Here are 3 solutions for my bilingual teachers:
1. Design a full-values language contract, where you invite your students to share their concerns, hopes and expectations around becoming bilingual. 2. Deploy these strategies in your classroom tomorrow: Any time you default to English, repeat the phrase in the LOTE.Start your LOTE days with this mantra: “I will hold myself accountable to speaking in [the target language].”
3. Give your students emotional vocabulary to talk about feeling overwhelmed, confused etc…. whenever they attempt to speak in a new language. For example: "When I'm misunderstood, I feel/act/think this..". 
Here are some solutions for administrators:
1. Be brave: ask yourself: “Can I shift focus away from the test and allocate resources to bilingual PDs and supports?”2. Form PLCs with local school leaders to collaborate and find creative solutions to reinforce and amplify LOTE-centered language instruction. 3. Invite students to sit on task forces, design artwork/posters for the hallway that affirm their rights to culture, language and identity. What could be more culturally sustaining than that?
And finally, for my parents reading this post, I offer the following solutions:
1. Recognize that LANGUAGE is both a noun and a verb. If you are committing your child to acquire a new language, then you must also model the respect and appreciation for learning it in the home. 2. Lean into tech! Most media is available in additional languages- adding subtitles reinforces literacy development in the target language. 3. Seek out bilingual spaces. This includes: initiating playdates w/ LOTE families, attending community events that center the non-Anglo culture, and demonstrating your willingness to be just as awkward and confused when communicating in the other language. I'm delighted to report how the power of small, brave choices by all three stakeholders have rendered more equitable language practices in the schools I've supported. Several teachers enthusiastically shared how the mantra helped shift their language accountability from an internal commitment to an external reality. During an all-hands admin meeting, one school leader reported this was the first year she didn't eliminate Spanish literacy instruction in the months leading up to the State Exams. (I shed a few tears of joy on that one.) And in after-school conversations with parents, a few brave souls have attempted to speak in Spanish WITH ME, demonstrating to their children that vulnerability is a sign of courage in language learning contexts. Whether you are a teacher, school leader or parent who is interested in pursuing a more equitable linguistic landscape in your school district, click the button below to learn more about how I can support those efforts- one mantra and small, brave decision at a time. 
