ELL News Headlines

In his first public statement since being detained by immigration authorities last month, Bronx high schooler Dylan Lopez Contreras expressed anger over his surprise arrest and gratitude for the outpouring of support he’s received.

Speaking from the graduation stage, Kimberly Hernandez told the crowd in Los Angeles’ historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre how honored she was to stand before them “not just as a graduate but as the proud child of immigrant parents.” It was an honor she shared with many of her classmates at Los Angeles High School’s commencement ceremony Monday afternoon. Some 84% of the students at the city’s oldest public high school identify as Hispanic or Latino, and many are first-generation Americans who learned English as a second language.

Maykol Bogoya-Duarte, an undocumented immigrant, hoped to finish high school in Detroit before returning to Colombia. That dream is likely over, his attorney said Wednesday, after his request for a stay of deportation was denied.

Hundreds of students at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring walked out of class Thursday to show support for a classmate who they say was recently deported to Guatemala.

As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids ramp up across California, so have reports of students grappling with trauma, upheaval and fear after family members — and sometimes students themselves — are detained.

California may soon pass legislation mandating evidence-based reading instruction, after more than a year of tense negotiations between battling advocacy groups.

As I retire after teaching 23 years, the last 22 of them at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, Calif., I’ve been reflecting on what has kept me content at our school and why I feel like I’m leaving on a high point. In other words, what did the school do to help ensure that I’ve been satisfied with my work, never considered leaving teaching or the school until I reached retirement age (and, even then, it was not an easy decision), and would unreservedly recommend it as a great place for educators (and for students and classified staff)?

Here’s how one school hosted meaningful events to create deeper connections with the surrounding community.

Postcrossing. The name evokes a bygone time of galloping hooves and bleating steamships. But the project, which involves the randomized exchange of postcards through a global network, offers an opportunity to step away from digital devices and delve into analog communication. The anachronism and novelty of global postcard exchange seemed like it might attract students at New Utrecht High School, which sits at the crossroads of Italian, Chinese, Guatemalan, Mexican, Ukrainian, African American and Caribbean American communities in Brooklyn, NY.

The school year is ending amid immigrations raids at businesses, protests, and the activation of National Guard troops and Marines.