NYC Kids Rally for Libraries; City Council Members Urge Full Funding

School Library Journal

May 24, 2013

More than a dozen New York City Council members, the presidents of New York's three library systems, and several hundred librarians, library staff, supporters, advocates, and children from nearby schools rallied today on the steps of city hall to protest $106 million in proposed funding cuts. Council members Jimmy Van Bramer and Vincent J. Gentile also pledged to introduce legislation that would create a baseline of stable funding for the city's public library services.

Mont. One-Room School House Boasts International Diversity

NPR

May 24, 2013

Melissa Block talks to teacher Shelly Hoisington. Hoisington teaches fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade at McCormick Elementary School — a one-room school in Troy, Mont. Hoisington recently convinced Gov. Steve Bullock to speak at the graduation ceremony for the five students in eighth grade.

Boy Achieves Family Dream with Geography Bee Win

Education Week

May 24, 2013

Passion for geography runs deep in Sathwik Karnik's family. When he was about 6, his mother began challenging Sathwik and his older brother, Karthik, to her own version of hide-and-seek — using an atlas. The games paid off when Karthik, now 15, made the finals of the National Geographic Bee in 2011 and 2012. But it was 12-year-old Sathwik, of Plainville, Mass., who finished the job, calmly answering questions about obscure island chains, bodies of water, global trade and culture to win the 25th annual geography bee Wednesday.

NY Principals: Common Core Tests Missing Standards' "Essential Values"

The Washington Post

May 23, 2013

The following excerpt from a letter to New York Education Commissioner John King from a number of New York principals explains the problems educators and administrators found with recent tests aligned to the Common Core: "Because schools have not had a lot of time to unpack Common Core, we fear that too many educators will use these high stakes tests to guide their curricula, rather than the more meaningful Common Core Standards themselves. And because the tests are missing Common Core's essential values, we fear that students will experience curriculum that misses the point as well."

Money Even Tighter As Indian Country Schools Face Sequestration

Fronteras

May 23, 2013

Schools in Indian Country are starting to feel the effects of across-the-board federal budget cuts known as sequestration. For the Navajo Nation that means larger class sizes, putting off building repairs and fewer buses — which is a big deal in a place where children travel up to 70 miles to get to school.

Muevete USA Promotes Healthy Lifestyles Among Latinos and Hispanics

Imperial Valley Press (CA)

May 23, 2013

Football, zumba, softball and boxing are some of the fun activities children said they do for exercise at the first annual Muevete USA event. Combating childhood obesity was the focus at the Muevete USA project held Saturday at Cesar Chavez Elementary in Calexico, CA.

Transparency Watch: Federal ELL Clearinghouse Remains in Limbo

Education Week

May 22, 2013

The U.S. Department of Education's process to find a new contractor to manage the National Clearinghouse for English-Language Acquisition seems to be one without end. For the second time in the past six months, a protest of the department's contracting process has prompted agency officials to say they will hold a "do over" of sorts in their competition to award a $1.5 million contract for the clearinghouse, known best as NCELA. That decision means NCELA won't likely have a new contractor overseeing its operations until well into the summer.

Faces from Oklahoma Show Diversity of the Sooner State

Fox News Latino

May 22, 2013

In the tornado-ravaged Oklahoma town of Moore, America's diversity was displayed in both victims and Good Samaritans. Moore, which is adjacent to Oklahoma City, reflects the growing diversity of the Sooner State, which saw its Latino community double in the last decade to comprise 10 percent of Oklahoma's nearly 4 million residents.

Greater Boston Swimming Program Aims to Prevent Drownings

WGBH

May 22, 2013

The YMCA of Greater Boston has created an urban swimming program that focuses on teaching poor black and Latino kids how to stay safe in the water. CEO Kevin Washington, who learned to swim at the Y when he was 9, says minority children who live in cities often don't take lessons because their families can't afford them or don't have access to a pool.

Undocumented Asian Youth Seek Higher Profile in Immigration Debate

Education Week

May 21, 2013

A group made up of undocumented Asian youths living in New York and other eastern states has launched a new social media campaign meant to push their stories into the public eye as the debate over immigration reform rages on in Washington. The project, called Raise Our Story, features young Asian immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.

Opinion: Next Clark County Superintendent Must Have Plan to Help ELLs

Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)

May 21, 2013

In this editorial about whether to launch a national search for Clark County's new superintendent, UNLV Professor Sylvia Lazos writes, "The challenge of the coming five years is to close the achievement gap of English Language Learners, or ELL students. According to the 2011 Nevada Report Card, 70 percent of ELL students in K-8 are not reading at grade level… ELL students are a large segment of the school district's population — 54,000 students, according to most recent data, a jump of 13 percent from last year."

Research Shows Latino Students Have High Exposure to Unhealthy Snacks at School

NBC Latino

May 21, 2013

Latino students are widely exposed to high-fat, high-sugar snacks and drinks sold in schools, but implementing stronger nutritional standards can yield healthier school snacks for this growing population at high risk of obesity, according to a new package of research materials released today by Salud America! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children.

Ariz. ELL Dispute Continues, Despite Federal Ruling

Education Week

May 20, 2013

Disputes over Arizona's approach to educating English-language learners show few signs of abating as the plaintiffs in a 2-decade-old lawsuit continue to challenge the state's requirement that such students spend more than half their school day learning English, with little access to other academic content.

Hawaii's Latinos Defy Stereotypes

Hawaii Business

May 20, 2013

Many people were surprised when the 2010 Census revealed that 120,000 people in Hawaii identified themselves as having Hispanic heritage, about 9 percent of the state's residents. In fact, the Hispanic population in the Islands had grown by 38 percent since the previous Census, while the overall population grew only 12 percent, making them the state's fastest growing ethnic group counted by the Census.

Quebec City High School Students Tout Bilingualism

CTV News (Canada)

May 20, 2013

While Bill 14 has revived many tensions between Quebec's francophone and anglophone communities, an English high school in Quebec City is offering a fresh perspective on the debate. Despite recent rifts between the two languages, St-Patrick's high school shows they're more blended than ever. In the cross-talk over Bill 14, it might be an example of how working together. Just eight blocks from the National Assembly, the bilingual high school students feel they're the lucky ones.

Sesame Street Announces New Latino Character: 'Mando'

The Huffington Post

May 17, 2013

"Sesame Street" has announced they are introducing a new Latino character and his name is Armando. As it heads into its 44th season the classic kids show will focus on Hispanic heritage. Armando or 'Mando' as he will be known on the show is a writer from Puerto Rico. He will not be the first bilingual character on the cast, "Sesame Street" already has Muppets Rosita and Ovejita, as well as Luis and Maria, according to a press release from Sesame Workshop.

All-Hispanic Alabama Soccer Team Wins School's First State Championship in 38 Years

NBC Latino

May 17, 2013

Collinsville, Alabama is a small town of approximately 2,000 people, but this past weekend a group of 22 Latino students put it on the national map. Collinsville High School's all-Hispanic soccer team won the state championship with a final score of 4:1. Principal Donny Jones, as well as the entire town, is elated because the school hasn't won a state championship in 38 years.

Celebrate Shorebirds: U.S. Forest Service Intern Helps Study Bird Migration

The Cordova Times (AK)

May 17, 2013

Through the America's Great Outdoors Initiative, Environment for the Americas offers internships to Latino youth and trains them in shorebird monitoring and environmental education. In this interview, California native Lesly Caballero talks about her experiences learning to conduct wildlife surveys and developing bilingual environmental education programs. Her upcoming project is shorebird surveys in the Copper River Delta, a crucial stopover site for migrating shorebirds on their way to their breeding grounds in the Arctic.

Common Core Supporters Firing Back

Education Week

May 16, 2013

Supporters of the Common Core State Standards are moving to confront increasingly high-profile opposition to the standards at the state and national levels by rallying the private sector and initiating coordinated public relations and advertising campaigns as schools continue implementation. In states such as Michigan and Tennessee, where common-core opponents feel momentum is with them, state education officials, the business community, and allied advocacy groups are ramping up efforts to define and buttress support for the standards — and to counter what they say is misinformation.

Supreme Court Justice Urges Immigrant Parents to Help Children with School

SchoolBook (NY)

May 16, 2013

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday told thousands of parents of English language learners to always ask for help when needed and to learn alongside their children. "They cannot do it without your help," she said at the 10th Annual ELL Parent Conference in New York City.