ELL News Headlines

From picture book biographies to historical overviews and reference titles, this roundup spotlights informational texts centering Latinx heritage. Add these works to nonfiction displays from September 15 to October 15 (and every other month of the year).

Counselor Marisa Mathews arrived at Chicago’s Prescott Elementary just as students were returning to the school after pandemic-era remote learning. That meant the former middle school English teacher had to get right to work addressing COVID’s mental health toll on students and a rise in disruptive student behaviors. She says teamwork has been key — from tackling issues with the school’s new behavioral health and climate teams to working more closely with families. The campus has also bet big on embracing restorative practices, including a push to give students the chance to drive conversations about conflicts and school culture.

Students can actively demonstrate their learning through inquiry-focused projects that promote creativity.

Nature-inspired design can reduce stress and create an environment where students are relaxed and ready to learn.

After nearly twenty years of mandatory English-only education, California’s bilingual schools are growing because of family demand.

Today’s post wraps up a multipart series offering suggestions about how teachers can help students see that lessons are relevant to their lives outside of school.

Much like the preschoolers he spent 10 years teaching, Daniel Mendoza embraces big messes. One of the first things students saw when they came into his classroom was a drippy, paint-splattered canvas. Now, he teaches other educators how to unleash the power of creativity in the classroom. Some teachers are afraid of making a big mess, but he relishes it. Mendoza, who grew up on a pistachio farm, seeing nature as his playground, believes that children are naturally artists. They love to get down-and-dirty, and they often focus more on the process than the product. Sometimes a child will concentrate so hard on a piece they seem to lose themselves in the work, only to run off as soon as it’s finished.

According to the Migration Policy Institute National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, nearly one million immigrant students enrolled in U.S. schools in the 2020-21 school year. Newcomer students are typically immigrants, refugees or asylum seekers who have recently arrived in a new country and are entering the school system for the first time. At Oakland International High School (OIHS), welcoming and supporting these students isn’t a new challenge; it’s the very foundation of their mission.

Denver Public Schools is setting ambitious goals for Latino students, families, and employees in response to a report from earlier this year that highlighted “serious barriers” to their success.

Positive attitudes toward school and access to dual-language immersion programs are associated with better academic performance among English learners. Learning in overcrowded classrooms and having a disability, meanwhile, are characteristics associated with lower reading scores among this growing subset of the student population.