What does educational equity for multilingual learners look like in our public schools? How do leaders understand and interpret policies related to multilingual learners (MLs)? And what does equity-informed leadership actually look like in practice?

I first started thinking about these questions when I was working as an English Language Learner (ELL) teacher in Massachusetts. Now, five years later, I’m a PhD candidate at UC San Diego, where my research examines leaders’ sensemaking, policy implementation, and program design for multilingual learner equity in K-12 public schools. At UCSD, I’ve been involved in various research projects related to ML leadership, policy, and equity. As a graduate researcher working with Dr. Megan Hopkins, I wrote up Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) policy briefs to share with state education agency (SEA) and local education agency (LEA) leaders. I’ve also been a member of a research team led by co-PIs Drs. Amanda Datnow, Shana Cohen, and Alison Wishard Guerra, where we examined leadership practices for ML educational equity at a partner school district. To learn more about my research experience, see my CV.

My dissertation study explores how district and school leaders implement Dual Language Education (DLE) and Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) programs in Massachusetts after the LOOK Act, with a focus on how these decisions enable—or constrain—equitable access for multilingual learners. My study’s findings will bring a critical lens to DLE implementation and shed light on leaders’ decision-making processes. This will also support Massachusetts with identifying barriers that may be impeding the process of implementing DLE in the post-LOOK Act era. 

If you are a district or school leader who works with multilingual learners in Massachusetts, please consider participating in my study. Participation involves a single, scheduled Zoom interview at your convenience. Contact me to set up a time to meet.