Third space openings at a two-way immersion elementary school in North Carolina: Lessons from parent language classes

ABSTRACT

Two-way immersion schools are growing in popularity throughout the United States. An emerging issue is to what extent these schools are able to connect with parents from multiple communities. This article describes an effort to connect parents with the school and one another through parent language classes at a Spanish/English two-way immersion elementary school in North Carolina. Evidence of parents building bridges, gaining new knowledge, and imagining a new future were analyzed using the third space theory (Bhabha, 1994; Gutiérrez, 2008), which revealed progress to tap into third spaces while identifying areas for additional development.

Notes

1. The names of all places and people mentioned in the text are pseudonyms.

2. Given the small number of TWI programs in the state, further details about the school’s program are withheld in effort to maintain anonymity of the school and the study participants.

3. This Web site has been omitted from the reference list to preserve the anonymity of the school district.

4. All interviews with Spanish-dominant parents were conducted in Spanish. The original quotes in Spanish can be found in the appendix.