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Articles

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2021): Journal of Leadership, Equity, and Research

School Leadership For Latinx, Immigrant Students And Families: Centering Advocacy And Critical Care

Submitted
April 27, 2021
Published
2021-04-27

Abstract

This paper examines the role of school leadership in centering the rights, wellbeing, and identities of Latinx, immigrant students and their families. It is guided by the following questions: How do school leaders envision and articulate their roles and responsibilities in sites serving immigrant youth? How does this orientation influence the policies and practices they enact in their schools? Drawing on a three-year case study of a public high school that almost exclusively serves Latinx, immigrant students, this paper illustrates how a school’s leadership can apply an advocacy approach and notions of critical care to more holistically serve students and their families. As a “site of possibility,” this school and its leadership suggest important considerations for policy and practice in other contexts, especially in a political environment that is hostile to immigrants and in the aftermath of a pandemic that has taken a disproportionate toll on immigrant youth and their families.