Immigrant-serving leaders’ perspectives on bridging home and school in crisis situations

Abstract

This article analyzes findings from a qualitative interview-based study that explored the perspectives of leaders of four immigrant-serving non-profit organizations in the United States on facilitating educational access for immigrant and refugee families with school-aged children and youth over the 2020–2021 school year, during which, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public school instruction took place online, or in a hybrid format. These organizations primarily serve low-income, newcomer Mexican, Guatemalan, Congolese, and Southeast Asian families whose children represent the highest proportion of multilingual learners of English (MLEs) in schools in the regions where this research took place. Interviews with organization leaders and staff are analyzed using emotional capital framings that center affect as a resource for action. Findings highlight the emotional labor, adaptability, and innovation that undergird each organization’s efforts to facilitate remote learning, address mental health concerns related to school, and provide families with basic needs. By centering leaders’ emotional responses to every-day and emergency situations, this research offers nuanced understandings of how mutually beneficial partnerships between community organizations and schools can be nurtured and sustained to support immigrant children and their families. We conclude by offering implications for future research, and education policy and practice.