Immigrant family legal clinic: A case of integrated student supports in a community school context

Abstract

Research is growing on the ways K-12 schools can address immigration policy and assist in mediating its impact on students and families. Community schools are poised to address these issues through integrated student supports by taking an asset-based perspective that views community members and organizations as powerful constituents in the struggle for educational equity. We report the findings of a qualitative case study of the implementation of a school-based legal clinic for immigrant families in a high-poverty urban neighborhood. We applied an equity-minded school change framework to examin the range of services offered by the clinic, the process of integrating the clinic’s work into the life of the school, and the perspectives of teachers regarding the intersection between immigration and education.