Enrollment Patterns and Online Portrayals of Dual Language Programs

• In Event: Dual Language Immersion Programs in LAUSD and the Potential for Equitable Learning Opportunities

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the opportunities and constraints of equitable access to DLI in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). We focus on three interrelated questions. First, we examine enrollment patterns in DLI compared to non-DLI programs before examining the extent to which enrollment in DLI reflects neighborhood and school demographic trends. Third, we explore school-level outreach efforts by analyzing text and images on school websites and social media platforms. Many districts, particularly large urban ones, operate under a climate of school choice exerting pressure on schools to increase (or at least maintain) enrollment. As a result, schools increasingly rely on websites and social media as marketing and information tools (Olson Beal & Beal, 2016; Wilkins, 2012; Wilson & Carlsen, 2016). For this analysis we examined 143 dual language schools using restricted-access student data, as well as online platform data from school websites and social media accounts.

Research Questions:
1. Do DLI programs attract more students, on average, than other surrounding schools?
2. How do school communications outreach (websites and social media) reflect efforts that may mitigate or exacerbate differential access to DLI?

Findings
DLI programs are attractive to families as evidenced by enrollment despite competition. Our findings also attenuate some of the concerns surrounding inequitable access for Latinx communities raised by prior research. Latinx students are not only benefitting from Spanish DLI in stable neighborhoods, but those that are gentrifying as well. The findings point to other areas in need of attention, including efforts to expand access to DLI programs to other minoritized groups. Black students, for example, are underrepresented in DLI programs irrespective of program language and neighborhood.

Our analysis of website discourse offered insight into the goals and audiences that are prioritized. For example, parents of non-minoritized English speaking students are positioned in websites and social media outreach as the main beneficiaries of DLI. The tendency to limit official website information to English-speaking audiences (even when showing representation of students from different ethnic/racial backgrounds) reveals an assumption that these are the audiences that will seek out information from the school website. The lack of official DLI information in Spanish continuously positions Spanish speaking families in deficit ways as passive clients who do not need this information.

Implications
The findings of this study provide evidence of actionable steps—examples from DLI schools within the same district—that can mitigate marginalization. Although there are few exclusionary behaviors evident, districts should be aware they exist and work to eradicate them. This includes centering outreach for families that speak a language other than English, especially Spanish; intentionally promoting heritage language development and community connections; and making the recruitment of under-represented students (e.g., Black students) an outreach priority. Addressing the use of language that subordinates certain learners or groups is also urgent. Given that schools with DLI programs attract a larger share of enrollment than surrounding schools, also needed is a focus on culturally responsive curriculum to ensure power dynamics within the classroom are addressed.

Authors

• Francesca López, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Clemence Darriet, University of California - Los Angeles

• Lucrecia Santibanez, University of California - Los Angeles

• Claudia G. Cervantes-Soon, Arizona State University

• Sarah Asson, Education Northwest

• Erica Frankenberg, Pennsylvania State University