Minority Students Become the Majority

The Washington Post

enero 22, 2008

Maryland may be majority white, but its public schools no longer are. While white residents account for 58.3 percent of the state's population, according to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau data, they make up only 47 percent of the student body this school year. The new majority belongs to blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and other minorities. The demographic changes are manifesting themselves in the classroom in unexpected ways and with breathtaking speed. The state's public schools quietly became majority minority in 2004 as part of a larger demographic shift occurring in the Washington region and the nation. School administrators across the region said they are spending more time and money, inside and outside the classroom, reaching out to their growing populations of minority students, thousands of whom are new to the United States.

Homework Zone Expands for Elementary ELLs

Eden Prairie News (MN)

enero 22, 2008

Its the end of the school day at Minnesota's Prairie View Elementary School, but you wouldn't know it if you wandered into one of two Homework Zone classrooms. The classrooms are filled with students reading, filling out worksheets, or gathering together for a word or math game on the whiteboard. The Homework Zone program, which started about three years ago, is primarily used by ELL students. The two Zone classrooms include one for kindergarten and first-grade students and the other for second- through fourth-grade students. Teachers and high school volunteers help to supervise and aid the students, and since the students have access to resources like computers, atlases, and dictionaries, teachers report that homework is finally getting done.

Library Gets Grant for ESL Collection

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

enero 22, 2008

Since Catholic Charities started relocating international refugees to the Pittsburgh area a number of years ago, the Baldwin Borough public library staff has watched the refugees become one of its largest user groups. So, to better serve them, the library recently started an English as a Second Language collection geared toward parents and other adult refugees, made possible by a literacy grant from Verizon. While the initial swell of refugees were from Bosnia, in recent years they have included people from a variety of countries, including some of the so-called "lost boys" of Sudan. The collection includes DVDs, numerous reference books teaching the English language, novels, biographies, books about American culture and occupations, and materials to help prepare for the Testing of English as a Foreign Language exam.

Losing Their Language

National Post (Canada)

enero 22, 2008

As Canada's Inuit people struggle to keep their native language — Inuktitut — alive, they are looking to Quebec for an example of how to preserve their culture and of how legislation can strengthen a minority language. Two language bills now on the drawing board would require government and territorial bodies to offer services in Inuktitut, English, and French. They would also require private companies and organizations to offer services in Inuktitut — a move that could have huge implications for the people and government in the northern territory.

Professor Was Pioneer in Bilingual Education

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)

enero 22, 2008

The son of immigrants from Mexico, Salomon Hernandez Flores knew firsthand the difference an education could make, both in his own life and later as a professor and early proponent of bilingual education. One of the first professors to teach about bilingual education and to bring the bilingual movement to a national level, he became an activist in the civil rights and Chicano rights movements. Flores, who passed away in December, was remembered by his son as a man who "wanted to open minds to the possibilities (and) at least get people to the doors of opportunity."

Finding a High School for an Immigrant Child is Tougher Than You Think

The Village Voice

enero 18, 2008

Ralph Antony Louissant is a sweet-faced 16-year-old who arrived to join his family in Brooklyn from Haiti in August. His family's attempts to get him registered in a New York City public high school started back then and culminated during two weeks in September, in an odyssey through five public high schools, trying to find one that would accept him. Such is the situation with many English-language learners (ELLs), advocates say, where more than half of New York City's new small schools have student bodies in which less than 5 percent are ELLs. And despite a number of rulings saying that each school must provide services for ELLs, Ralph Antony's experience shows that it's perhaps only through family persistence and the intervention of advocates that many immigrant students are getting the services to which they are entitled.

Workshop Helps Latino Students Prepare for College

KIMA TV (WA)

enero 18, 2008

For thousands of Latinos, high school is about more than just making the grade: it's about learning the language. Many of them don't know where to start when it comes to making long term plans. That's where "Opening the Doors to the Future," a college preparation workshop implemented in a Washington school district, comes in. The objective is to provide Latino students and their families an opportunity to speak Latino professionals about how to continue their education and succeed in this country.

English as a Second Language Helps Non-Native Speakers

News Review (OR)

enero 18, 2008

School was difficult for Luis Estrada during his first year at an elementary school in Oregon. Even though Luis was a third-grader, he didn't know what was going on because his first language isn't English. Says Luis, "It was like if you were in another world. You were a different person that didn't know anything about that world." Now, after a little bit more than a year, it's not so complicated. While Luis gets about 30 minutes of English as a Second Language instruction, the rest of the day is spent in their regular classes, and all of the teachers at his school have had training on how to help English language learners.

Urban Schools Aiming Higher Than Diploma

The New York Times

enero 17, 2008

At Excel High School, in South Boston, teachers do not just prepare students academically for the SAT; they take them on practice walks to the building where the SAT will be given so they won't get lost on the day of the test. Those efforts, and others across the country, reflect a growing sense of urgency among educators that the primary goal of many large high schools serving low-income and urban populations — to move students toward graduation — is no longer enough. As a result, many urban and low-income districts, which also serve many immigrants, are experimenting with ways to teach more than the basic skills so that their students can not only get to college, but earn college degrees.

Spanish-Speaking College Students Provide Service to Area Schools

Flyer News (University of Dayton)

enero 17, 2008

Next door to Ohio's University of Dayton campus is an elementary school packed with children but with not enough faculty members to assist the growing Hispanic population there. Roughly 18% of these students are considered English Language Learners, and the majority of the parents of the Hispanic students don't speak much English, thus making it hard for the students to submerse themselves outside of the classroom. This is where UD steps in. Beginning four years ago, through the university's Center for Leadership in Community and the department of languages, Spanish-speaking students have volunteered their time to help with the ESL program, translating lessons in Spanish, enforcing English as much as possible, acting as translators between the parents and regular faculty members, and trying to bridge cultural differences.

Is There Proof that Culture-Based Teaching Works?

Education Week

enero 15, 2008

Mary Ann Zehr is an assistant editor at Education Week. She has written about the schooling of English-language learners for more than seven years and understands through her own experience of studying Spanish that it takes a long time to learn another language well. Her most recent blog entry discusses last week's Education Week article about researchers' findings that the claims of effectiveness of culture-based instruction are not yet backed up with empirical evidence from research studies.

Register for free access to three Education Week articles picked by the editors each day. Other articles are available through paid subscription. Registration is not required to view blogs unless readers wish to comment.

Decatur High's American Dream Girl

Decatur Daily (TN)

enero 15, 2008

Four years ago, Stefhania Salazar wasn't happy with her father's decision to move their family from Mexico City to the United States. Since she arrived in the U.S., however, the quiet Stefhania has turned herself from a non-English-speaking immigrant into a Decatur High School honor student in just four years. A panel of teachers selected Stefhania as the school's Student of the Month for January, and teachers throughout the school are expressing admiration for Stefhania's remarkable story and academic success.

Fewer of Alabama's Hispanic Families Stretching School Holidays to Visit Relatives in Latin America

The Birmingham News (AL)

enero 15, 2008

When Christmas holidays come around, so does a tradition to which a number of Alabama school systems have become accustomed: the departure of some of their Hispanic students before the holidays begin in December to countries like Mexico and Guatemala, and their return in January after classes have already resumed. In the past, many students have been absent from school for up to two or three months, causing students to miss tests and to slide back in their English language development. But the absentee tradition seems to be in decline, and school officials cite parents' increased familiarity with the U.S. school system and schedule, the shift of parent work from seasonal jobs to year-round jobs, and increased concern about immigration regulations for the fewer number of absences this past holiday season.

Filling the Void After High School

The Washington Post

enero 14, 2008

Marcelino Benitez said his best academic year was 12th grade. But unlike many of his classmates, he dreaded graduation because he still lacked the other documents he needed to make his way in the United States. Benitez, now 21, found help from two parent liaisons and a guidance counselor, who contacted their congressman and hired an immigration specialist to speed up his stalled resident visa application. Nearly two years and $10,000 later, Benitez has a fresh visa pasted into his passport. Now he is back in Northern Virginia, ready to pursue more skilled jobs in construction and eager to earn a degree in psychology or theology. For many illegal immigrants like Benitez, public school is a rare refuge. There's no requirement to prove legal immigration status to enroll in school. But the transition into the adult world can be abrupt, and these students pose special challenges for guidance counselors and other educators.

Soaking up Spanish: Immersion Program Gears up for Its Second Year

Tahoe Daily Tribune (CA)

enero 14, 2008

Walking into Shaina Lucas' class at Bijou Community School, the chattering of 5-year-olds drifts around the room in a mix of Spanish and English. This is the first year of the Two-Way Immersion Program, which is designed to teach students to become fluent in Spanish and English. During class, students create sentences in Spanish, along with sounding out letters to spell more words. School officials say that the program breaks down a lot of cultural barriers, since children can communicate with one another, and parents are noticing that their children now have the ability to interact with more kids who don't speak English.

Opinion: Reading Into Our Reality

The Record (CA)

enero 14, 2008

Dozens of literacy programs, hundreds of English-language tutors, and thousands of new books in new libraries: that's what might be required to improve Stockton's status in Central Connecticut State University's annual literacy rankings. For the third year in a row, the survey — while its validity and relevancy remain dubious — ranks Stockton last in literacy among America's 69 largest cities. If Stockton's huge Latino population and other immigrant groups were removed from Central Connecticut's study, the literacy profile would be significantly different — but that wouldn't accurately reflect the diversity that's an essential ingredient of the city's character.

Hispanic Students Pay for Extended Vacations

Chicago Tribune (IL)

enero 13, 2008

Martha Padilla-Ramos and Jose Barrera fondly remember the long car rides south to Mexico each December when they were children. At the end of the trek awaited their cousins, delicious food, trips to church and days of parties to celebrate Christmas. It was a beloved part of their childhood, so the Chicago-area school administrators understand why families make the annual trek to their homelands. But they can't understand why so many families plan these trips to last a month or more, far beyond the traditional two-week holiday break Illinois schools allow.

Students Succeed in ESL Classes

News Review (OR)

enero 13, 2008

Luis is one of 21 students who get 30 minutes of English as a Second Language instruction every day at the Roseburg grade school. The rest of the day is spent in their regular classes, and all of Rose's teachers have had training on how to help English language learners. Bringing the children to one location is a new practice this school year. Teacher Christina Byrd said the advantage is that students get more interaction with other children who are learning English.

School Break Bustles with Learning

San Diego Union-Tribune

enero 11, 2008

The campus of California State University San Marcos is nearly deserted at this time of year, but five classrooms have been busy with learning. This week, about 100 fourth- and fifth-graders from a local elementary school have been studying at the university during their winter break in an effort to increase vocabulary development and reading comprehension in new subjects. The program also allows the young students, many of whom come from low-income families and are learning English, to work in a real university setting, and encourages them to start believing that they too can go to college.

School ESL Program Still Thriving

Powhatan Today (VA)

enero 11, 2008

One of the first things teacher Suzan Moore does when she meets a new ELL student for the first time is give them a tour of the lunchroom. Moore, who serves as an English as a second language teacher for the Powhatan County, VA school system, is tasked with helping students with limited English skills succeed in their new environment. Moore travels from school to school during the course of her work day, addressing specific issues each student in the program might be having. It might be eighth grade science vocabulary words one day and elementary school phonics the next. One thing is clear, though — her skills are in demand. Since first coming to Powhatan in 2005, Moore has seen the ESL program grow by nearly seventy percent.