ABSTRACT
Founded in 2017, the Toussaint L’Ouverture Academy, located within the Mattahunt Elementary School, serves early elementary students in Boston, Massachusetts. The academy is one of the first public schools in the nation to offer a dual language English/Haitian Creole program. This program was developed in direct response to immigrant parents and community members predominantly of Haitian descent sharing a vision for language and cultural preservation. A scholastic revolution was established with the program’s commitment to assuring that students develop as bilingual and biliterate individuals. This chapter examines how stakeholders have kept the revolution going by examining how their leadership practices and professional learning efforts are aligned to supporting academic success for students while adhering to state and federal civil rights mandates. These practices require critically conscious stakeholders who are strategic and collaborative in their efforts to create and sustain a learning environment wherein students’ academic achievement is partnered with cultural heritage and native language. Recommendations and guiding questions are provided with the purpose of supporting current and future dual language programs, especially those serving in urban communities that include less commonly taught partner languages.
