A Revolution in the Making

This chapter examines the growing interest in dual language immersion programs that, abandoning the deficit narrative, respond to demands of globalization and migration. The chapter looks at notable examples in two states and one city and the political and demographic factors that have made each one succeed. The California discussion focuses on grassroots efforts by Californians Together in building a coalition of advocates and state legislators despite a state law limiting bilingual instruction. In Utah it examines the collaboration among business interests, language advocates, and the state, with an overlay of religious pragmatism. The discussion lastly turns to New York City and the “bilingual revolution” led by French-speaking families with the support of the French embassy. The chapter reveals the challenges facing these programs in staffing, funding, and materials and in assuring that they serve the less privileged students whose bilingual potential the approach was originally designed to realize.