ELL News Headlines

Elementary school teacher Ron Morris of Riverside, California goes a step beyond to understand his students' backgrounds. It's one way Morris incorporates the culture of his students in the classroom.

A grant program is helping refugee students travel the long emotional distance from their homes to integrate into schools and their communities in the United States. The Office of Refugee Resettlement distributes Refugee School Impact Grants to 38 states, including Washington, and helps students who recently have arrived in the country get on their feet.

As a group of five Pleasant Run Elementary School students – Elijah Goodwin, 10; Angel Herrera-Sanchez, 9; Jose Verastegui, 10; Manuel Mendez, 9; and Devilyn Bolyard, 9 – participated at a recent robotics competition in Indiana, they could hear parents from other schools making disparaging comments about their team. Nevertheless, the team, known as the Pleasant Run PantherBots, advanced to the Vex IQ State Championship, coming in first place, and qualifying for the Vex IQ World Championship in April. A GoFundMe account supporting their participation exceeded its fundraising goal by $4000 and the school has now closed the campaign, encouraging others to donate money to other robotics teams.

The City University of New York, the largest urban public university system in the United States, is moving to fundamentally rework its traditional remedial programs. Administrators hope program changes this year and in 2018 will make necessary catch-up less of a stumbling block, while ensuring that students who are in college-level classes are prepared to do the work.

Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump's administration recently put their own stamp on the Every Student Succeeds Actt by dismantling key elements of the previous administration's work. State school leaders say the moves won't significantly influence their approach to the law, but advocacy groups will be watching closely to see how the new, more flexible policy environment affects decisions about underperforming schools and disadvantaged students.

New research indicates that where English-language learners attend school can determine how quickly they are reclassified as English-proficient A Michigan State University research team found that schools in Texas—second only to California in total number of K-12 English-learners—vary widely in how they determine if students should be reclassified as English proficient, affecting their chances of success in school and beyond.

The schools superintendent in Harrisonburg, Va., was meeting parents this month when a mother broke down in tears, explaining that she was undocumented. What would the school do, she asked, if she became separated from her children? "I remember walking up to her and putting my arm on her shoulder and saying, 'Your child is safe at our school,'" said Scott Kizner, the city schools chief. But he also advised those at the meeting in the Shenandoah Valley that any parents worried about deportation "need to make plans."

Sixty-four Woodburn high school seniors received the State of Oregon Seal of Biliteracy in a recognition ceremony the evening of March 14. The seal recognizes the linguistic assets and academic skills of biliterate high school graduates, as well as provides colleges and employers with a consistent measure for bilingual proficiency.

Crossing borders and leaving family, home, and everything else behind is a reality for many children and teens. The following titles—from picture books to YA—explore the many dangers, factors, and effects that refugees and immigrants face every day. All of these titles are recently published or forthcoming in 2017.