ELL News Headlines

Social-emotional learning is at the core of Carrie White's 2nd grade classroom in Schenectady, N.Y. The veteran teacher has been in the classroom for nearly 20 years. Reflecting on that journey, she discusses not only how much the teaching profession has changed in that time, but how much the kids have changed, too. No longer is focusing on the academics enough, she says, as kids come into her classroom with “big emotions” that they need to learn how to handle.

Universities and colleges have historically not done well at enrolling Hispanic students. Now their own success may largely depend on it.

Artist Minnie Phan has been honing her craft for many years, but her journey to becoming an artist meant better understanding herself, her heritage and her family. On the MindShift Podcast, she discussed how the Vietnamese diaspora inspired her to pursue art. She also shares what motivated her to create the book “Simone” with Pulitzer-prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen. The book follows a young child who has to evacuate her home because of a wildfire. In the process, she learns about how her mother had to evacuate her home when she lived in Vietnam because of a flood. The book also shares how kids can process displacement and see who is helping them during tough times.

Producer Jeanne Montalvo continues the story of her family's journey with bilingualism in New York City.

As a Stanford student juggling political science and computer science, I've seen firsthand how generative AI is reshaping learning. It's like we've been handed a life calculator — powerful, transformative, but also a potential crutch. The challenge isn't just figuring out the right policies but shaping how students think about and engage with artificial intelligence. Without guidance, we risk creating a generation that leans on the technology to think for them rather than using it to think better. So, how can teachers help students — especially those in K-12 — use AI to build their critical-thinking skills rather than bypass them?

Project-based learning can help English language learners master language and content skills at the same time.

Whether you have a small outdoor space or a dedicated indoor area, garden-based learning does not have to be overwhelming. There are simple ways you can begin. Initiate school-wide participation by asking students to save lunchroom throwaways, like empty milk cartons and yogurt cups for seedlings. Provide a 5-gallon bucket in the cafeteria and share information on which food scraps can be saved and used for composting.

The Department of Education oversees many federal laws that govern how students with and without disabilities experience school. But IDEA is one of the primary ways the federal government contributes to educating disabled students. The law enshrines the right of every child to “a free and appropriate public education,” and it says students with disabilities have a right to individual education programs (IEPs) that lay out the services each child is entitled to. IDEA is also the vehicle through which the federal government sends money to schools to help pay for those services.

The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funds from public schools that have diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In a letter to state leaders across the country, the U.S. Education Department said Title I funding, which is targeted to schools with a high proportion of low income students, would be threatened if schools failed to follow its interpretation of civil rights laws.

Ed Zigler, the “father of Head Start,” was the son of immigrants from Poland. His father was a peddler and his mother plucked chickens to make a little money, according to Walter Gilliam, executive director of the University of Nebraska’s Buffett Early Childhood Institute, who counted Zigler as his closest mentor. When Zigler was a child, his family made its way to a settlement house in Kansas City, Missouri; these community-based charities offered a two-generation approach, caring for and educating children while also teaching English and job skills to parents and connecting families with medical care and housing help.