Dual language programs are a form of bilingual education in which balanced numbers of English speakers and speakers of a partner language receive instruction in each language for at least fifty percent of the time for five years or longer. In Massachusetts, although bilingual education was eliminated in a voter referendum in 2002, dual language programs were exempted from those restrictions in response to a waiver request from community and dual language advocates. As a result, for fifteen years, dual language programs in Massachusetts operated within a shortage of qualified dual language educators, who encountered limited opportunities for training and professional development and no path for dual language licensure. Thus, the onus to support the effectiveness of dual language programs lied with the schools and teachers themselves, who had to deploy their own strategies to overcome various political, curricular, and instructional barriers.

My research investigated how teachers and administrators in the first and only dual language program in East Boston overcame the challenges of teaching for biliteracy in an English-Only context. Research shows that effective teachers are the most significant factor influencing student learning. In dual language programs, the role of teachers becomes even more important, as such programs are reported to significantly improve the academic performance of students identified as English Language Learners. Teacher and program effectiveness in dual language programs is thus crucial to stop cycles of inequity for children experiencing and intersection of cumulative risks (e.g. poverty and language barriers).