ELL News Headlines

All are welcome here. That’s the name of a new campaign that recently got underway at the Hennepin County Library (HCL) in Minnesota. But it could also represent the message of several community and school libraries across the country in light of President Trump’s executive order that bars refugees and residents from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the United States.

The Springdale, Arkansas School District has seen a significant increase in the number of students exiting English-as-a-second-language programs this year. Springdale School District officials attribute the increase to the growing number of campuses providing English language development instruction for English-learners.

Ahniwake Rose is the executive director of the Washington-based Native Indian Education Association. She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and of Muskogee/Creek descent. In this commentary, she writes, "Contrary to what many think, education in Indian Country is not in need of a solution imposed by others who know little about our communities. Solutions already lie within…For example, in Alaska, innovative approaches to dental health have made significant headway in improving youths' oral health at a fraction of the standard cost. In Montana, the Confederated Tribes of Salish and Kootenai have transformed workforce-development programs and cut their unemployment rate by 20 percentage points. In Washington state, the Tulalip Tribe has developed a world-class, culturally sensitive tribal court system that has reduced recidivism rates among tribal offenders. Programs like these show that a win-win situation is possible when federal funds are spent in accordance with what the community wants and needs. And, today, we have a new opportunity to ensure these same successes in education."

President Donald Trump's sweeping order that halted residents of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States sent shock waves through some of the nation's schools, leaving educators scrambling to assure frightened refugee and immigrant students that their schools should be safe places. The effort to calm those fears comes as some educators grapple with uncertainty of their own: not knowing the next steps the White House will take on immigration and how it will affect their students.

Officials with Township High School District 214 in Arlington Heights have appointed a district principal to an administrative position that supports the district's burgeoning number of students who are English language learners. In her new role, Angela Sisi will work with the district's English language learning staff and parents to ensure the ELL program aligns with the ideal practices and results in higher levels of student achievement, while maintaining compliance with state and federal regulations, officials said.

The 2017 Pura Belpré award winners were announced last month, showcasing some of the most influential Latino children's literature of the year.

All eyes are on Houston, and they were supposed to be on the city for a different reason: Kickoff for Super Bowl LI will take place on Sunday, as the Patriots and the Falcons face off to see who will take home the Lombardi Trophy. But now, in the shadow of the biggest sporting event of the year, the international, diverse city is scrambling to figure out how to deal with a crisis it didn’t see coming. Houston welcomes more refugees than any city in the country each year, and many of them will be working at the Super Bowl as contracted companies have been able to partner with resettlement organizations.

After more than a decade of seeking out engaging literature for young people from across the world, the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) continues this endeavor by highlighting impressive international titles that contain literary and artistic value as well as unique cultural perspectives. The 2017 Outstanding International books (OIB) list gathers 41 titles that will delight and enlighten readers with a variety of experiences found within narratives and informational texts from or set in countries such as Brazil, Netherlands, India, Norway, Australia, and our neighbor to the north, Canada.

Liberia has had more than its fair shares of challenges, and is trying to rebuild after enduring a devastating Ebola epidemic and civil war. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro meets an American woman who has made her home in Liberia, started her own school and now provides education and scholarships for girls.

A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction allowing refugee students with limited English proficiency in a Pennsylvania school district to transfer from an alternative school for underachievers to a regular high school with special help for English-language learners. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, in Philadelphia, unanimously ruled for a group that includes students with limited or interrupted formal education, or SLIFE, who had fled war and violence in countries including Burma, Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan, and Tanzania.  The Lancaster school district assigned the students, who were generally 18 to 21 years old, to the Phoenix Academy, an alternative school run by a for-profit provider focusing on "accelerated credit recovery" but which court papers say focused on seat time, stringent security measures, and a strict dress code. English-language learners at the academy take one English-as-a-second-language class but otherwise learn all their other subjects with the general population.