This case study invites school administrators to re-examine their knowledge and educational expectations of America’s most-heterogeneous and fastest-growing population: Asian Pacific American students. Through David’s retrospective accounts of his adjustment as a newly arrived immigrant at Ohlone Elementary School in California, this case challenges school administrators to confront two persistent and contradictory expectations at the intersection of immigration and education: the model minority and perpetual foreigner stereotypes. By examining this case, school administrators will have the opportunity to reconsider their educational expectations so they can effectively respond to the strengths and needs of Asian Pacific American students.
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