English literacy skills are important in order to participate fully in public life; however, the heritage-based literacy skills learned outside of the classroom also are critical in the P-12 classroom. School teachers are important advocates for immigrant students--to preserve their first language and heritage, to integrate knowledge of their two or more languages and cultures with their literacies and content knowledge development, and to help develop their full potential and positive self-esteem. This article explores what a community-based heritage language (HL) school is, as well as advocates for its recognition in the American education system. Additionally, Chinese HL schools are used as an example to illustrate what cultural and literacy resources HL schools hold that can be incorporated into P-12 schools. (Contains 1 table.)