Mexicans in the Pacific Northwest: Lesson from Progressive School Leaders for Progressive Educational Policy

Latinos now live and work in areas of the United States where they have not been before. These changes impact schools in a variety ways. This article reviews recent research on how communities have responded in the South, New England and the West with a primarily assimilationist approach including English-only policies. The article then provides a description of one school district's response in the Pacific Northwest. This school district's progressive leadership provides guidance for progressive educational policy. The author concludes with a recommendation that the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 that No Child Left Behind eclipsed be reinstated to guide the nation in these changing times. (Contains 2 tables and 6 endnotes.)