ELL News Headlines

Adolescents who have recently immigrated to the United States comprise a large, growing population that faces a variety of academic and social-emotional risk factors. A healthy school climate — norms, goals, values and relationships within schools, along with teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures — is a key factor in protecting these newcomer immigrant adolescents from risk and promoting their success in school and life. However, research examining immigrant youths’ perceptions of school climate has been sparse, which limits efforts to develop interventions designed to improve school climate.

A new course, called Cultivating Compassion and Dignity in Ourselves and Our Schools, offered by the University of Colorado, Boulder, teaches the practice of compassion, and the philosophy that guides it. The course, which has been through the university’s review process, was co-designed by a team of educators, researchers and “contemplative experts,” said Ashley Potvin, one of the project’s leaders and a research associate at the university’s Renée Crown Wellness Institute, an interdisciplinary team of academics dedicated to youth wellness.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine plays out in real time across news and social media, many parents and teachers are looking for guidance on how to talk to their young people about the crisis and how they can help.

Emilio Delgado, the actor whose decades-long portrayal of Sesame Street‘s fix-it shop owner Luis Rodriguez endeared him to generations of young viewers and was a pioneering force in TV’s depiction of Mexican-Americans, died in New York City recently just more than two years after being diagnosed with the blood cancer multiple myeloma. He was 81.

What happens to our souls when there is no more wilderness to underwrite them? Three new titles explore that question. “Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs,” “Every Leaf a Hallelujah” and “Wingbearer” all feature protagonists who become guardians of the natural world, and by extension of human spirituality.

The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (NAESPA) has named two Kentucky schools as National ESEA Distinguished Schools during its national conference on Feb. 16-19. The two are among 49 schools nationwide to receive the honor. Flaherty Elementary School (Meade County) was recognized for closing the achievement gap between student groups. Kenwood Elementary School (Jefferson County) was recognized for excellence in serving special populations of students, such as homeless, migrant and English learners.

What are the best instructional strategies and lessons to use when teaching intermediate English-language learners?

Here are 28 books to share with kids and teens that chronicle the strength, tenacity, and joy of Black Americans throughout history.

Researchers, educators, teachers, administrators, school board members, and advocates with expertise in literacy and the education of English learner/emergent bilingual students have come together to form the National Committee for Effective Literacy (NCEL), with the aim of improving research, policies, and practices to ensure that English learner/emergent bilingual students leave school as proficient readers and writers in English (and preferably another language), who thrive and succeed at school and in their communities.

For millions of parents who don’t speak English, navigating their child’s school system can be a behemoth undertaking. It’s a reality that Marifer Sager is working to change in the Portland, Ore., school district as the senior manager of the language-access-services and multicultural affairs department. Sager oversees translation services for the 47,000-student district, which is home to families that speak more than 130 languages.