ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on schools serving emergent bilinguals; in the US, where our work takes place, such students are typically designated ';English language learners' by the school districts in which they are enrolled. As Shohamy has noted, school principals wield enormous power in shaping language policies enacted within schools. The chapter shares the work they have done, which is so closely aligned to Shohamy's own beliefs and work, so that further efforts with school leaders can extend into contexts beyond the US and Israel. The City University of New York, New York State Initiative on the Education of Emergent Bilinguals (CUNY-NYSIEB) project were all listed as failing schools due to the underperformance of their students designated as 'English language learners' on state exams. The enthusiasm for multilingualism is contagious, and teachers are constructing teaching and learning from the individuality of the children, as well as a shared vision of the strength of having a multilingual school ecology.
