ELL News Headlines

Other than increased funding or staffing, what’s one strategy that would help a district or school better serve English learners? A March EdWeek Research Center survey, which included more than 1,100 educators across the country, asked this open-ended question to capture on-the-ground perspectives. While it’s hard to capture a precise national snapshot of English learner education, the survey explored key issues such as the instructional models schools use for these students, educators’ opinions of their capabilities to serve this population, and more.

From a picture book biography about a woman who climbed Mount Everest to a guide for burgeoning Asian American activists, these informational texts offer a snapshot of Asian American history.

For years now, graphic novels have been a flourishing market for kids’ books. Several popular books and series are being reissued as graphic novels, Front Desk, a 2019 kidlit success story. Set in 1993, Mia is initially excited that her Chinese American immigrant parents have become managers of a motel. Unfortunately, the owner is exploitative and continuously rips off her family; nevertheless, they won’t let him deter them from making it work.

Ninety-five percent of educators say that their school or district has an official policy restricting students’ access to their cellphones during school hours, according to a new EdWeek Research Center survey. But how well are those policies addressing some of the common problems afflicting schools? Fairly well, according to educators.

Educators should focus more on a strengths-based approach that emphasizes kids’ agency and resilience while teaching students the social-emotional skills that will help them safely navigate their digital lives. That was one of the main takeaways from a panel hosted by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning as part of the organization’s virtual spring conference.

Two teenage brothers from the Republic of Congo were living their version of the American dream. They were leaders on their high school basketball team and involved in their local church. The elder was weeks away from graduating. That dream was thrown into upheaval this month when the brothers were detained by ICE agents who had waited outside their guardians’ home in Diamondhead, Miss. Israel Makoka, 18, and Max Makoka, 15, were leaving to take the bus to school when they were arrested and later moved to separate facilities, in Louisiana and Texas, where they remained on Wednesday. Their detention has crushed the school community in their conservative small town.

Since January, Alabama, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia have passed some form of legislation to reevaluate technology's role in education instruction and assessment, and more than 10 other states are considering similar restrictions. Last week, after months of petitions and demonstrations, the school board of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) also voted unanimously to limit screen time for all grade levels, beginning in the fall, with a particular focus on eliminating it entirely for elementary-age students.

The federal FAFSA form is required for anyone applying for federal financial aid, and for many low-income students it is the only possible route to affording a college degree. The Education Department is not supposed to share student information with agencies responsible for immigration enforcement. But now that the federal government has been disregarding longstanding norms on data sharing, some students with undocumented parents are not applying for federal financial aid, even though they’re eligible.

Despite New York City’s last-minute withdrawal of a controversial proposal for a new artificial intelligence-centered high school, parents, students, and educators packed this week’s school board meeting to speak on AI anyway.

Alyssa McFeat was one of the 15 students and 67 staff members at the Aveson Global Leadership Academy who lost their homes — and their school — in the Eaton fire, one of eight major wildfires that caused widespread destruction in California last year. Across the state, these wildfires would disrupt school for over half a million students as they raged on for close to a month, according to a news report from NPR.