Ideals and Realities: An Examination of the Factors Shaping Newcomer Programming in Six U.S. School Districts

District and school leaders face the challenge of designing and implementing supports for immigrant newcomers who have recently arrived in the US, speak little English, and are unfamiliar with the US school system. This study draws on 117 interviews with educators in six purposefully-sampled school districts across the country to examine the factors that shaped newcomer educational services across grades K-12. Findings reveal that, although district leaders held particular ideals around positive and negative equality that aligned with their policy designs, how these policies were implemented depended on organizational capacity and resources, as well as school-based perceptions of newcomer needs.