Introduction

This chapter raises the question as to whether the school that is the topic of this research is a “good school” or a “bad school,” and whether it can be considered a “bilingual community.” Theories of performativity and intersectionality are introduced to elucidate what it would mean for bilingual community to be brought into being at a California school in the contemporary era. Against this theoretical backdrop, the book’s central argument is introduced: that it is both possible and desirable for parents to work collaboratively across the sharply drawn divisions which are performatively reproduced in society—and which tend to structure schooling in California and similar contexts. The book’s ethnographic research methodology is introduced, and the contents of the seven chapters are outlined.