ABSTRACT
As scholars and practitioners increasingly recognize the need for critical consciousness in dual language and bilingual education (DLBE), school leaders are at the forefront of fostering critical consciousness on an organizational level. This case examines how one principal of DLBE in Utah, Amy Howards, draws from her own evolving critical consciousness to institutionally and interpersonally advance an equitable school climate for school stakeholders. Utilizing a culturally and linguistically sustaining school leadership framework (CLSL), this case documents the delicate balance of Principal Howards’s leadership practices that simultaneously unify school stakeholders towards a vision of equity and maintain shared decision-making to culturally and linguistically sustain the lifeways of communities of color (Leu Bonanno et al., 2019). The discussion centers on how Principal Howards draws from her own critical consciousness and recognition of her positionality as a White, cis-gender female leader serving a predominately Latinx population. Guiding questions then prompt readers to analyze how they can also create institutional and interpersonal opportunities to foster organizational critical consciousness and to empower school members to define what is culturally and linguistically sustaining for themselves in DLBE.
