ELL News Headlines

About 1 in 3 students in California’s K-12 schools speak a language other than English at home and were not fluent in English when they first started school — 1,918,385 students — according to data from the 2024-25 school year. About half of these students (1,009,066) are current English learners. The rest (909,319) have learned enough English in the years since they started school to now be considered “fluent English proficient.”

Classes began this week for students at the University at Buffalo, a public research university in western New York, but there were about 750 fewer international students on campus than expected. The new students who did make it gathered for a welcome from the school's dean of students. "We know you have had to overcome hurdles to be here – especially this summer, with visas," Tomás Aguirre told the assembled students, representing more than 100 countries. "And I just wanted you to know that we are so glad you were able to make it."

With an asset-based approach, teachers can help students with disabilities recognize strengths while working to address their areas for growth.

In libraries we talk a lot about community—the communities where we deliver service, the communities of librarians to which we belong, and the communities we seek to build and cultivate through literacy and information access. When I think of community in libraries, I often consider its elements: who is included, what we value, how we come together, and why we stay connected. But I’ve had a more concrete example of community on my mind recently. With the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shutdown now imminent, I’ve been revisiting the place where I think I first recognized the meaning of community: Sesame Street.

MassBay Community College has been awarded a $75,000 grant from the Cummings Foundation to expand programs for English Language Learners (ELL) and disadvantaged students in career certificate pathways for high-demand fields including Behavioral Health Technician, Certified Nursing Assistant, and Computer Support Specialists.

English-learner advocates say there’s a growing and urgent need to protect federal funding dedicated to the nation’s English-learner population as the Trump administration seeks to eliminate this source of support.

Katrina pummeled New Orleans at the very beginning of the 2005-06 school year — leaving most of the city’s public school buildings damaged, some of them beyond repair. A few city schools reopened within months, but it would take years for others to welcome back students. By that point, the school system looked very different.

Schools across the country are increasing security, reassuring their communities of their safety plans, and providing mental health resources in response to a deadly shooting at a Minneapolis school on Wednesday.

As details of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis continue to emerge, parents face the difficult task of discussing the event with their children.

The books in this list don’t just provide stories — they provide first contact with literacy itself. They tell children, “Words matter. Stories matter. You matter.”