District Leadership Practices to Support Immigrant-Origin Students: Case Studies From Immigrant-Serving Districts Across the United States

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This session features four case studies from diverse contexts across the U.S. highlighting the crucial role of school districts as immigrant-serving institutions. While prior research has explored schools as key sites of support, our work centers district leaders in this period of contested anti-immigrant sentiments. We examine leadership as distributed across roles and among both formal and informal leaders working to construct systems of support. Given the challenges facing immigrant communities, district-wide leadership approaches provide educators with strategies and systems to improve safety and belonging for immigrant-origin students. By bridging areas of focus for leaders, from academic programming to family engagement to welcoming newcomers to supporting undocumented students, our session helps further an understanding of relevant district leadership practices.

Sub Unit

• Division A - Administration / Division A - Section 1: Leadership

Chair

• Rebecca J. Lowenhaupt, Boston College

Papers

• Culturally Responsive Practices to Support Newcomer Students: A Case Study of an Illinois District - Paulette Andrade Gonzalez, Boston College; Viridiana Villalva Salas, Rauner College Prep

• Supporting Immigrant Families: Developing Individual Versus Collective Responsibility Among Educators in a New Jersey District - Jennifer Queenan, Graduate Center - CUNY; Ariana Mangual Figueroa, Graduate Center - CUNY

• "We Do It All": District Immigrant Parent Liaisons as Agents of Reception - Edom Tesfa, Harvard University; Rebecca J. Lowenhaupt, Boston College

• Supporting Undocumented Students via District Policy and Leadership: District Leadership's Intentional Use of Varied Institutional Logics - Brian Tauzel, Western Washington University; Dafney Blanca Dabach, University of Washington

Discussant

• Megan Hopkins, WestEd