ELL News Headlines

It's midday at Poland's Warsaw Ukrainian School and the teachers are doing their best to shepherd students to their next lesson. The adults are outnumbered, and no match for loud, energetic 7- and 8-year-olds who have flooded the hallways during the afternoon passing period. The Ukrainian school looks like any grade school: student artwork lines the walls, the youngest students sing nursery rhymes to memorize "heads, shoulders, knees, and toes," and the teacher's lounge is a solace for diligent instructors. But there is nothing typical about this school. When the war broke out and people began rushing into Poland, a group of Ukrainian educators used money from nonprofit organizations to open the school in just 24 days.

The mass shooting in a Buffalo grocery store that police say was committed by an 18-year-old man radicalized by white supremacist ideology has left the western New York city torn and searching for answers. For many parents, confronting the ideology espoused by the murder suspect means having difficult conversations with their children about the realities of violence and racism in the United States.

Note: See more related resources in 15 Tips for Talking with Children About Violence and Talking About Racism and Violence: Resources for Educators and Families.

Please take out your crystal ball and make some predictions about English-language learners and U.S. schools 10 years from now. How many ELL students might there be? Will there be any particular changes in how they are taught or assessed, etc.?

The month of May is dedicated to both Asian American Pacific Islander heritage and mental health awareness. The youth mental health podcast "On Our Minds," which is part of Student Reporting Labs network, takes a look at the toll Asian American stereotypes take on teen mental health and well being. Podcast host Faiza Ashar delves into the topic with student filmmaker Mabelen Bonifacio.

For students who reach middle school without strong reading skills, these misread words turn into roadblocks that impede understanding and make it harder to learn. A new program at Alameda International Junior/Senior High School in Lakewood seeks to help. 

At a House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties meeting today to “examine the ongoing efforts to prohibit discussion in K-12 classrooms about American history, race, and LGBTQ+ issues, and to punish teachers who violate vague and discriminatory state laws by discussing these topics,” a letter signed by 1,300 children’s literature authors was read into the record. It was signed by authors of different generations and genres, award winners, and bestsellers, including Christina Soontornvat — who drafted the letter — Jason Reynolds, Judy Blume, Rick Riordan, Jacqueline Woodson, Dav Pilkey, Alex Gino, Jenny Han, Jeff Kinney, Angie Thomas, and Yuyi Morales.

Tagwa Mohmed remembers harvesting ripe, red tomatoes as a child growing up in her native country of Sudan. Gardening there was just part of life, and her family planted everything under the sun.

With the Supreme Court signaling a willingness to reverse decades-old precedents like the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said on Thursday that he would seek to overturn a 1982 court decision that obligated public schools to educate all children, including undocumented immigrants.

New York City education officials are planning to expand the number of transfer high schools that can serve students learning English as a new language, using a Bronx school for newcomer immigrants as one model, according to a top department official.

The federal government recently detailed for the first time the brutality and treatment Native American children suffered when they were forcibly moved into U.S. boarding schools during the course of 150 years. Deborah Parker, CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and a member of the Tulalip Tribe in Washington, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss.