English-Learners Still Lag on Reading, Math Progress

Education Week

July 03, 2008

Nearly all states continue to struggle in meeting the No Child Left Behind Act's academic targets for English-language learners in mathematics and reading, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Education today. The biennial report to Congress credits just one state — unnamed in the report — with hitting the mark for adequate yearly progress, or AYP, in mathematics in the 2005-06 school year, the most recent year for which data was submitted, while none met AYP in reading.

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This Strange Thing Called Prom

The New York Times

July 03, 2008

Ever since 2003, when a leggy Muslim girl from Senegal named Hawa Kebe immigrated to Brooklyn, in the eighth grade, she has dreamed of going to her senior prom. So in the late fall, when she learned that her high school wasn't planning a prom, she volunteered to organize one. Never mind that many of Hawa's classmates at the International High School at Prospect Heights, a public school that serves newcomers to the United States, had no clue what a prom was or that there was no translation for the word "prom" among the 28 languages spoken by the school's 411 students.

Jumpstart Helps Hispanic Preschoolers

The Tuscaloosa News (AL)

July 03, 2008

Learning a new language can be a daunting task for anyone. Combine that task with learning a new social system and arriving on time for the first day of school, and it seems like more than a five-year-old should endure. That is exactly the idea behind the Jumpstart Hispanic Program held at Alberta Elementary School in Tuscaloosa, AL. The free program is aimed at Hispanic children, all of whom speak little to no English, preparing for their first year in an English-based classroom, and was started by students from the University of Alabama.

Calls in Louisiana to Require English at Commencement

The New York Times

July 01, 2008

School officials in Houma, Louisiana are considering a policy that would require all commencement speeches to be in English. The proposal comes after Hue and Cindy Vo, cousins who were co-valedictorians at Ellender High School, delivered part of their commencement addresses last month in Vietnamese. Cindy Vo, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, spoke about high-school memories, friends and the future. Then Ms. Vo, 18, recited a sentence in Vietnamese dedicated to her parents, as they watched. She told classmates that the line, roughly translated, was a command to always be your own person.

Coalition Says Using a Culturally-Based Education Model Could Help Close Achievement Gap

DiverseEducation.com

July 01, 2008

Educators and advocacy organizations who recently spoke during a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill said that teachers must be sensitive and inclusive to all students' cultural backgrounds. The briefing, "Culturally Based Teaching: A Model for Student Success," provided educators and student advocates with the opportunity to share their views and provide federal policymakers with first-hand accounts on how using a culturally based education model will empower students and help close the achievement gap.

University of California Considers Changes to Guaranteed Admissions

San Francisco Chronicle

July 01, 2008

The University of California is considering a major shift in the way it determines which students are eligible for admission — a formula some say is now too rigid. Supporters say the changes would create a fairer approach and broaden access for students at inner-city and rural high schools. Critics, however, are voicing concerns, saying the proposal not only undermines the politically popular guarantee of admission to the top 12.5 percent of high school graduates but might reduce the number of African American, Latino and Asian American students who would be assured admission.

'English Only' Moves Forward; Opponents Play Waiting Game

The Nashville City Paper (TN)

July 01, 2008

While opponents of the initiative to make English the official language of [Nashville's] Metro government bide their time, Councilman Eric Crafton's group has collected half of the necessary signatures to put the measure on the ballot this fall. Groups like the state and local chapters of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, in addition to education and immigrants-rights advocacy groups say they are waiting to see if the English Only initiative officially gets on the ballot before they begin a campaign to combat the movement.

Nashville Works to Bring ELLs Closer to Home

The Nashville City Paper (TN)

July 01, 2008

Big changes are in the works for how the Metro Nashville Public Schools District’s students learning English are assigned to schools. The district is in the process of a shift from emphasizing placement of students at English Language Learner (ELL) Centers to kids into ELL Program Schools closer to home. This coming school year, because of the changes, about 600 kids will receive ELL services in their regularly zoned schools. Kids being transported to ELL Centers often have to ride buses up to one hour each way, according to LaWanna Shelton, executive director of ELL for MNPS.

Deaf Teacher Finds Connection with ESL Students

The Asheville Citizen-Times (NC)

July 01, 2008

The small classroom where John Kuhlman teaches English to immigrants is a far cry from the large lecture halls and auditoriums where he used to lead 1,000 students in lessons on economics. He no longer teaches on a platform, but sits just inches from his students, intensely concentrating to understand what they are saying. Thirty-five years ago, while a professor at the University of Missouri, Kuhlman lost his hearing. A cochlear implant, lip reading and sheer dedication now allow him to spend five days and 21 hours a week teaching 15 immigrants how to read, write and speak in English.

ESL Students Fly from 'Zero' to Hero

The Toronto Star (Canada)

July 01, 2008

It was a small but heartfelt graduation ceremony at Jones Avenue Adult Centre. The hard work of the ones who didn't make it was praised as highly as the success of those who did. Ana Hernandez made it. From barely being able to speak English last September, the doctor from Mexico zoomed to ESL Level 4 by June and will begin the summer semester next week in Level 5.

New ASU Program Tackles State's Language Issues

The East Valley Tribune (AZ)

June 30, 2008

Some of Arizona's greatest education dilemmas deal with the languages that are heard — or not heard — in its classrooms and homes. Now, Arizona State University is hoping to create a body of doctoral-level scholars, and research, to tackle those issues. A new Applied Linguistics Ph.D. program, which is seeing its first five candidates enroll this fall, aims to prepare linguists to find solutions to challenges dealing with issues of language and literacy.

Study Looks at Test Scores of Limited English Speakers

The Dallas Morning News (TX)

June 30, 2008

Most students with limited English-speaking skills are concentrated in low-performing public schools. Many of them don't do well on standardized tests, but neither do black or white students who attend the same schools. S study released Thursday by the Pew Hispanic Center analyzed standardized testing data for public schools in Texas, Arizona, California, Florida and New York. The findings, however, have less to do with who the students are and more with what their schools are like.

Summer Camp Helps Kids Enrich Their English Skills

The Leaf Chronicle (TN)

June 30, 2008

People who speak another language beyond English know if you don't use it, you will lose it. With that premise in mind, the local school system offers a month-long literacy enrichment camp each summer for English language learners who are students in homes where English is not the primary language.

Creative Camp Activities Keep ELLs Interested

The Reporter-Herald (CO)

June 30, 2008

The mountain man really impressed Miguel Hernandez. The normally boisterous third-grader sat in quiet fascination as "Iron Thumb," portrayed by Jan Manning, talked about life in the mountains. Miguel is one of 78 students taking part in a Thompson School District summer camp for English-language learners from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Native American Students Flag Holes in Instruction

Education Week

June 26, 2008

Fewer than a third of children who identify themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native say that they know "a lot" about their tribe or group, according to a study on the teaching of Native American culture and language released today by a branch of the U.S. Department of Education.

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Scholarships for Latinos Come Full Circle

The Journal News (NY)

June 26, 2008

When Carlos de Mestral came from Paraguay as a high school sophomore, the total of his English vocabulary was: "My name is Carlos." By his senior year, while he worked carpentry and car wash jobs to help his family pay the rent, he was taking Advanced Placement English. Not only did he get into college, he got into Harvard. Not only that, he received a full scholarship. De Mestral and his 18-year-old sister, Celia, are among the latest students to be awarded a small scholarship by El Centro Hispano, a community agency in White Plains. The program, designed to help young Latino students go to college, began humbly in 1980.

Dubai Festival Encourages Publication of More Children's Titles in Arabic

Gulf News

June 26, 2008

A lack of good quality children's books in Arabic means that parents are reading to their children from English books, said a publisher. Isobel Abul Houl, publisher for Jeroboam books that publishes children's books in both English and Arabic, said: "There's a lack of good children's books in terms of illustration, quality and imagination, so the majority of children's books in Arabic are often translated or they're poor quality."

Laptops for Kids of Migrant Workers May Not Be Panacea

National Public Radio

June 26, 2008

The creators of the One Laptop per Child initiative may have been thinking of helping children in the developing world, but cities such as Immokalee, FL, feel its kids would benefit, too. Nevertheless, it's unclear how much the laptops can bridge the achievement gap for the kids of migrant workers.

Suburbs' Schools Becoming Lands of Many Tongues

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

June 26, 2008

Students raised speaking languages other than English have been a steadily growing part of Wisconsin's population, but few were prepared for this finding when the state adopted a new test for identifying such children a few years ago: The suburban school districts of Racine and St. Francis surged ahead of Milwaukee Public Schools, each with a higher percentage of their students labeled English language learners, in the 2005-'06 school year.

Chinese Immersion Class Offered at Preschool

Suburban Chicago News

June 26, 2008

It's often said that play is a child's work. When fall comes, a group of young children in Naperville, IL will be doing their work at a child development center entirely in Chinese. Program directors say that their goal is for the younger students to spend two or three years learning the language and then head for kindergarten fully fluent in Mandarin.