ELL News Headlines

Education and housing are often inextricably linked, but policy decisions made in the two sectors are generally siloed, at times shaped and passed without considering how a housing policy might impact education and vice versa. Megan Gallagher’s research bridges the two, focusing on housing and educational collaborations that support students’ academic outcomes. Some of her latest work as a principal research associate at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization focused on public policy, provides school officials and housing developers with ideas on how to partner together to desegregate schools by desegregating neighborhoods.

Thousands of students, including in Newark, Chicago, and the Denver area, are helping test out federal financial aid forms before they go live to the broader public on or before Dec. 1.

Students can get timely exposure to the civic process through interesting activities that encourage them to think about important issues.

Eden Alonso-Rivera told herself, "I have nothing to lose." The 16-year-old junior at Grandville High School in Grandville, Mich., opened her bedside drawer and pulled out something precious: A bundle of letters and sketches her father had sent from jail. The two are no longer in touch. For Eden, these letters aren't just from her father; they are her father. She took the small bundle to school — itself a remarkable act, since she'd kept the letters secret from all but her mother — and then did something even more remarkable: She made a podcast about letting go of the father she barely knows.

Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, occurs this year on October 31 through November 1. Share these titles about the holiday with young readers.

Today’s post continues a yearlong series on mistakes that are made in the name of culturally responsive teaching.

“Azul” is a musical that follows the journey of a woman named Bluebird, who leaves her homeland to travel to a new world. There, she gives birth to her daughter named Rita, who becomes a composer. Through her music, Rita tries to reimagine the motherland that she never knew. The musical was inspired by “El Pájaro Azul” (“The Bluebird”), a concept album by Jacinta Clusellas, an Argentinian composer who moved to the United States to study at Berklee School of Music in Boston.

Alt.Latino has a new story in its series, Songs That Move You. Listener Claudia Cruz is reminded about Afro-Caribbean New York City in the 1980s.

Teachers working with young students can explore books that foster kindness and acceptance of differences among people.

Diagnoses of autism have risen sharply in recent years across the U.S. The number of care providers has also grown, as have concerns about oversight. What's not in dispute is a public crisis around autism, acute among children of color, and alarming among Somali Americans in particular. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Minnesota, home to the largest Somali community in the U.S.