ELL News Headlines

Since June, Owensboro Public Schools has added nearly 100 English Language (EL) learners to their population, meaning approximately 8% of the district’s students are multilingual learners. The district has put in measures such as adding EL teachers and using new communication technology to make sure they are meeting the needs of all students.

"What do you want your teacher to know about you?" Esther considered the question, sitting in a small room with Ms. Odette, the interpreter who was working with her to complete her learning profile—a tool that helped us learn about new students and tailor instruction to meet their needs. Ms. Odette guided Esther as she wrote her answers in English. "I want my teacher to know I’m Smart in Swahili."  I was Esther’s teacher. She wanted me to know that although she could not yet speak English, she felt confident as a learner in her first language.

Within minutes of casting her line into the bright green algae-covered waters of Powderhorn Lake, Arati watched her bobber lurch below the surface. Like everyone at the lake that day, Arati is new to the U.S. and Minnesota. She came to this fishing day through Nature for New Minnesotans, a pilot project developed by the University of Minnesota’s Extension services and a language class at Our Saviour’s Community Services English Learning Center.  

Alexandria "Lexi" Aniyah Rubio was looking forward to playing volleyball when she got to junior high. She dreamed of going to law school one day, and she loved astrology, butterflies, and the color yellow. (This report is also available in Spanish.)

Since the advent of the pandemic, enrollment decline has become a national trend for many school districts across the country. In Los Angeles Unified, the decline has been most apparent among our youngest learners in kindergarten — a 14% enrollment drop in 2020 and a 6% drop in 2021. There is evidence that a decline in kindergarten enrollment will contribute to a widening of the achievement gap between those who enroll and those who did not attend or were chronically absent in kindergarten. This is a preventable tragedy.

According to 2019 data, there are nearly 5.1 million English learners enrolled in public schools in this country, and that number has steadily increased in the past two decades. Many students are taken out of class and placed in separate ESL learning rooms. Often parents are faced with a choice that involves investing more in English language learning than their heritage language. It’s a common experience for recent immigrants to the U.S. or children of immigrants. 

Let’s look closely at the literacy work that can be done with comics and graphic novels in literacy instruction, particularly with upper elementary and middle grades students. While some strategies helpfully focus on work at the word level, these visual texts afford additional possibilities.

The new school year brings the end of universal free meals for many students. In 2020, Congress gave schools waivers to provide free breakfast and lunches regardless of income, but that expired at the start of September. Students and families still can apply for free meals if they meet income thresholds.

Swarmed after school by concerned Korean parents, Heejae Lim often found her mom acting as an unofficial liaison between her teachers and friends’ families who spoke little to no English. Lim, an education technology entrepreneur and TED Fellow, watched as her mother would answer questions every day about how to support their child’s learning, parent-teacher conferences and cultural barriers around school jargon. Growing up in an immigrant family, Lim resonated with their struggles and later explored solutions to family-school partnerships as the founder and CEO of TalkingPoints, a communication app that helps multilingual and underserved families connect with their child’s teachers.

Thanks to a new cultural exchange, city public schools are welcoming 25 new bilingual educators from the Dominican Republic this month.