ELL News Headlines

Fifteen first-graders encircled one of their classmates on a colorful rug in a Maryland classroom, trilling a children’s song in a language unfamiliar to most of them. They sang along as they played an Ethiopian children’s game that requires a student in the center to twirl with eyes closed and point to another classmate at the end, until each youngster has a chance in the middle. The students at Oakland Terrace Elementary in Silver Spring sang in Amharic, the official language of Ethi­o­pia, and they were learning from a curriculum designed specially for them by their music teacher, Anna Harris.

Children's literature handed out some of its biggest awards this past week. And three Latina authors were recipients. We talk to Meg Medina, Elizabeth Acevedo and Juana Martinez-Neal about what this moment means to them.

The District will offer up to $725 to city employees and residents who are trying to become U.S. citizens, the mayor’s office said Monday. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser said in a statement Monday the District awarded the National Immigration Forum, a nonprofit advocate for immigrants, a $100,000 grant to provide financial support to residents, employees and their families, the statement said.

Learning to read is widely considered the bridge to later academic success. In hopes of ensuring that success, more than a dozen states, including Florida, require students to pass a reading test to advance to the 4th grade. While studies have questioned the effectiveness of retaining students to reach that goal, a pair of researchers has found that immigrant English-language learners in the Sunshine State benefitted from the extra year of school and exposure to the language. The researchers argue that the potential risks of stigmatization and extra cost to the school district are worth it if schools boost the graduation prospects of more English-learners and spend less on remedial education classes down the line.

As life-endangering winter weather held a large swath of the United States in its grip, schools were shut down in many communities. Making the decision to close schools for weather can be one of the most thankless parts of a superintendent's job (someone is always unhappy and second-guessing), but some Midwestern schools chiefs who had to shut down this week decided to have a little fun.

The U.S. Department of Education's office of English-language acquisition has released the first portion of a guide designed to answer questions that families with English-learner students may have about public schools in the United States. Colorín Colorado, a site for educators and families of English-learners, has also published a guide on how schools and early childhood centers can support immigrant students and families.

After dangerously cold weather shuttered immigration court in Chicago this week, attorneys were scrambling to get the word out to people in deportation proceedings.

After campaigning on the expansion of preschool and other early-childhood programs, many of the nation’s newly elected governors are following through with budget proposals that include money to support children from cradle to school entry.

Maria B. Salvadore is the 2019 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). This prestigious award honors an individual who has made significant contributions to library service to children and to ALSC. Salvadore is the former coordinator of children's services at the DC Public Library System, and a long-time literacy consultant and advisory board member for various educational non-profits. (She also serves as an advisor for Colorín Colorado's sister project Reading Rockets and has worked on a number of special projects for Colorín Colorado.)

Meg Medina won this year's John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature for her novel "Merci Suarez Changes Gears," the story of an 11-year-old girl who navigates her home life with a Cuban-American extended family and her experiences as a scholarship student at a private school. Medina is the second Latinx writer to win the award — Matt de la Pena won in 2016 for the picture book "Last Stop on Market Street," illustrated by Christian Robinson — and the first to win for a novel.