ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author presents findings from a case study of a social justice–oriented dual language immersion (DLI) school in a mid-sized city in Wisconsin called Lakeville. She explores local policy and ideological discourses around bilingualism that shaped program design and implementation, including the potential for DLI to foster more equitable educational contexts. Most local policy actors shared some vision of bilingualism as a resource, but they tended to emphasize this perspective in connection to fostering stronger global and local relationships. The author considers the role of teachers, board members, administrators, and community activists in sustaining a social justice focus in their efforts to implement the district's first dual language program. Whereas discourses of bilingualism-as-a-problem and bilingualism-as-a-resource certainly resonate in the Lakeville community, the prevailing understanding of bilingualism at Escuela Bilingue is bilingualism-as-a-right. Every policy actor interviewed referenced social justice in connection to DLI, albeit with different interpretations of what it means and how to achieve it.
