ELL News Headlines

A principal who focuses on being visible to students and honoring teachers’ work to support everyone in the building explains how she does it all.

Zadia Gadsden, who leads Takoma Park Elementary School in Takoma Park, Md., is The Washington Post’s 2024 Principal of the Year.

Investments that California and other states have made in public preschool have helped many parents through a child care crisis, in which quality options for early learners are often scarce and unaffordable. But many parents say the programs don’t work for their families. Even when Pre–K lasts the whole school day, working parents struggle to find child care before 9 a.m. and after 3 p.m.

Michael Ida (he/him) is a mathematics and computer science teacher at Kalani High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. In this piece, he writes, "While many might find it incomprehensible that a small group discussion between teachers evokes anything other than fun, fellowship and camaraderie, I find these spaces to be extremely isolating when I am the only Asian educator."

What will professional development for educators look like in 10 years? Will it continue to be a top-down, one-size-fits-all annual training that all teachers must attend, or will PD turn into something that teachers have always demanded it be — useful and relevant?

Knowing their work will be shown to a public audience is a powerful and positive motivation for students to produce great work.

From fantasy and dystopian to horror and thrillers, these 29 novels featuring AAPI characters are good picks for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and throughout the year.

Quick learning "pulse checks" during and after lessons can be a powerful way to "improve and enhance student learning," says veteran teacher and author Jay McTighe. Designed to assess students' understanding of concepts or their ability to apply new skills, formative assessments can also inform next instructional steps.

Inside classroom 148, a gleeful Alyce Hartman was telling the tale of three musicians: a squirrel cradling a guitar, a grizzly bear plucking a bass, and a chicken strumming a banjo. Storytime with students is among the hallmarks of Birdie’s Bookmobile, a pop-up literacy initiative launched in 2022 by Hartman.

Engagement is a key ingredient in the recipe of learner success. If you're a teacher, it’s the difference between building student skills and knowledge and having to go back and explain everything again. Engagement is just as important for educators who work outside of the classroom, like national park rangers, because keeping visitors involved in a learning experience that is noncompulsory is no small feat. In honor of National Park Week, here are three unique engagement strategies to try in your classroom that come directly from "America's Best Idea."