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Texas Tech University, Heather Newman, May 2020low-income-students according to the Education Equality Index (Dauter & Olivieri,2017). Empowering students to be thinkers, communicators, collaborators andcontributors is a tenet that is woven through many aspects of educational programming inthe six high school, middle school, and 37 elementary campuses in AISD. As a choicedistrict, schools in AISD are unique and offer students and families the option ofattending a campus that meets their needs, even if it’s not their neighborhood school.Students in this west Texas school district are as diverse as the neighborhoods.Almost half of students served in the district are Hispanic, followed by one third White.One tenth of the student population is African American, with the remaining tenth ofstudents being mostly Asian and two or more races. With the distinct diversity ofneighborhoods comes unique needs of families in the surrounding community. Schools inthis district are continually seeking creative ways to meet the needs of students, which iswhy three elementary campuses opted to shift from a bilingual programming model to adual language model to better serve the language needs of English Learners (ELs) andtheir families. This was a significant change since bilingual programming models hadserved students in the school district for over 40 years. One of those elementarycampuses is the focus of the current study.The west Texas elementary school is a pre-kindergarten through fifth gradecampus with a student population of an estimated 560 students. The demographics at theelementary school differ from the district as a whole, with the campus serving apopulation of 78% Hispanic, 15% White, and the remaining 7% African American,Asian, and two or more races. The school building is 70 years old, and many of theteachers on the campus have taught at the campus for more than a decade. Almost all of4

Texas Tech University, Heather Newman, May 2020the students qualify for free or reduced lunch and many families depend on communitysupport provided through the school via the campus counselor and social worker. Studentmobility is higher than the district average at nearly 15%. Students receiving specialeducation services are also higher than district averages at 15%; this could be partly dueto the inclusion of two Adaptive Curriculum Classrooms (ACC) on campus to servestudents with severe cognitive learning disabilities. Nearly half of the student populationis classified as ELs. Student discipline is slightly higher than average when compared toother campuses with similar demographics. Parent involvement and communityparticipation are below average, though the campus has attempted to increase these byincreasing family nights and improving communication from school to home. Campusmorale is average compared to other campuses of similar size and demographics.The elementary school of the current study is one of three elementary campuses inthe district implementing a one-way dual language program model. Programimplementation for the campus began in the 2017–2018 school year in pre-kindergarten,kindergarten, first, and second grade classrooms. Each year, as the children advance theschool plans to implement an additional grade level with the goal of full dual languageprogram implementation by the 2020–2021 school year.Background of the Professional Problem of PracticeThis current study will utilize design-based school improvement interventionstrategies proposed by Mintrop (2016) and insider action research methodologicalprinciples discussed by Coghlan and Brannick (2014). Mintrop’s (2016) designdevelopment logic model includes six steps: 1) defining and framing a problem ofpractice; 2) making intuitive theories of action explicit; 3) understanding the problem and5

Texas Tech University, Heather Newman, May 2020the change process; 4) designing a research-based intervention; 5) implementing theintervention and collecting data; and 6) evaluating the intervention and deriving designprinciples.To define and frame the problem of practice, an ill-structured problem wasformed initially, based on personal experiences and observations of day-to-dayhappenings at the campus. When I arrived as an assistant principal on this campus in July2018, I had never worked at a campus with such high numbers of ELs or one withbilingual classrooms. In May of the same year, I received two books about dual languageprograms and read both in order to have some knowledge of the purpose for the programand to learn how this was different from the bilingual program already in place at thecampus. As the school year began, I noticed that there was little talk of what needed tooccur to implement the program. When I asked teachers their feelings about the program,responses varied. Some were excited and others were nervous. This informal data leadme to define an ill-structured problem and became high-inference problem of practicestatement. I hypothesized the problem of practice to be that campus leaders werestruggling to implement the dual language program effectively due to the fact that theprogram model being used lacked sufficient guidance for school leaders to actuallyimplement the program. To solve the problem, my initial intuitive theory of action will beto research leadership practices that support and hinder dual language programimplementation and share the findings with school leaders to improve the implementationprocess.In order to make the intuitive theory of action explicit and move from a ‘highinference’ opinion of the problem to a ‘low inference’ statement based on observation, an6

Texas Tech University, Heather Newman, May 2020exploratory needs assessment will be conducted to identify “gaps in results or asperceived discrepancies between a current and a desired condition” (Mintrop, 2016, p.61). I began writing down observations from informal conversations with the campusprincipal and teachers. I took notes of observations at team meetings and of day-to-dayhappenings at the campus, including parent conversations in the front office, and beganlooking for evidence of dual language tenets in student work samples and classnewsletters. Additionally, I reviewed completed rubrics of dual language teachers fromthe guide titled Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education, (Howard, LindholmLeary, Rogers, Olague, Medina, Kennedy, Sugarman, & Christian, 2018).From my notes, I learned that campus bilingual teachers were familiar withtransitional bilingual programming, as this is the model that has been in place to servesecond-language learners for many years. Shifting to a new model had been met withsome resistance due to limited time to pre-plan for the program initially, a lack of Spanishinstructional resources, narrow professional development in dual language pedagogy, andmixed support from parents. While there was marked provision for the change from thedistrict bilingual director in terms of providing funding for training and resources, theabrupt exit of a key district academic leader who was instrumental in supporting programimplementation left the campus feeling uneasy about ongoing support and encouragementof the actual implementation. Responsibility for the program would likely rely on thecampus leader’s ability to communicate with district leaders to garner additional support.This is problematic because as Lindholm-Leary (2005) observed, even a very successfulprogram may collapse if it relies on a single person for leadership.Support of the dual language program at the campus was also mixed among7

Texas Tech University, Heather Newman, May 2020parents and teachers. While one parent voiced support for the model, two othersexpressed concern about their children being in dual language classrooms resulting in thestudents being pulled from the dual language classroom and placed in a monolingualclassroom. Multiple informal conversations with teachers showed various levels ofsupport for the program as well. One teacher was outspoken for the program andidentified the advantages of bilingualism for students both in school and in the workforce.Another teacher noted reluctance in believing the benefits of dual language programmingto students, yet another noted reserve in her own confidence and efficacy of instruction inSpanish. The level of positive support from parents and teachers was varied, making theirmixed levels of engagement an area of concern. Additionally, the lack of training andprofessional development in the tenets of dual language programming implementationwas noteworthy considering the relatively short amount of time allotted for pre-planningbefore actual implementation. While teachers attended conferences and receivedliterature on the model and it added to their understanding, the lack of ongoing andtargeted professional development devoted to this new program and adequateimplementation practices is a weakness.After analysis of the various data sets, the needs assessment revealed deeperinsights to the explanatory factors, surface behaviors, and underlying root causes for theprofessional problem of practice to explain the reason for the lack of articulated anddeeply embedded shared vision, mission, and purpose for the dual language program. Thefindings indicate that an understanding of dual language programming and itscomponents is unclear to staff and parents. Campus leadership, including principals andteachers, lack the necessary professional development to build collective efficacy through8

Texas Tech University, Heather Newman, May 2020shared work in PLCs. Additionally, campus leadership lacks time and specific toolsneeded to promote collaborative change through a distributed leadership model.Transformational leadership skills are also needed to promote organizational change andelicit positive engagement by teachers and parents with dual language programming.Moreover, campus bilingual staff as a whole were not ‘sold’ on the model and thereforewere not motivated or engaged in the actual implementation process. Conversations withparents and teachers indicate a lack of understanding of the basic tenets of dual languageprogramming. From the exploratory needs assessment, a refined, low-inference problemof practice statement was formed indicating a lack of articulated and shared vision,mission, and purpose for Hillside Elementary and its newly implemented dual languageprogram. In order to improve implementation efforts, campus leadership must identifycreative ways to secure positive involvement from campus staff and parents to moveforward with program implementation.Statement of the Professional Problem of PracticeThe campus leadership team, including the principal, assistant principal, and fiveteachers lacks the necessary professional development to build collective efficacythrough shared work in a PLC. Additionally, the campus leadership team lacks time andspecific tools required to promote collaborative change through a distributed leadershipmodel. Transformational leadership skills are necessary to promote organizational changeand elicit positive engagement by campus teachers and auxiliary staff with dual languageprogramming. In order to improve implementation efforts, the campus leadership teammust identify creative ways to secure positive involvement from campus teachers andauxiliary staff to move forward with program implementation.9

Texas Tech University, Heather Newman, May 2020Purpose of the StudyThere is lack of an articulated and shared vision, mission, and purpose for theelementary school of the current study’s newly implemented

Apollo Independent School District (AISD) is a mid-sized school district in Texas, serving roughly 33,000 students. For the purpose of anonymity and for the purpose of this study, the PK-5 elementary campus will be referred to as Hillside Elementary and the district as Apollo ISD. AISD has a long and proud history of