ELL News Headlines

Many college students lack the necessary support to finish college. For students who were in the foster care system, sometimes there’s no support at all. A bill in the Colorado legislature would waive college tuition and fees for students who were in foster care past the age of 13. About 4,500 students would be eligible for the tuition waiver, but only about 15% would participate, according to a state analysis. The cost to the state would be about $694,000 a year, according to a legislative analysis.

With more asylum seekers coming to Maine and being housed in South Portland hotels, the schools have been getting ready for more English language learners and welcome the new students with excitement. 

For one out of every three students in Worcester Public Schools, English is not the primary language. Out of the nearly 23,000 students in the school district, about 7,500 are English language learners with more than 70 languages represented including Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Twi, the native language of Ghana, according to Carmen J. Melendez-Quintero, manager of multilingual education for Worcester Public Schools. The number is about three times the state percentage.

Ashley Bryan, a celebrated children’s author whose joyous, vividly illustrated picture books pulsed with the rhythms of modern poetry, African folk tales and Black American spirituals, died Feb. 4 at his niece’s home in Sugar Land, Tex., outside Houston. He was 98.

In January, the American Indian Library Association announced its 2022 Youth Literature Awards at the livestream of the American Library Association's youth media awards. Here is a list of the winners and honor books.

Districts across the country, including Chicago and New York City, have experienced a decrease in students getting referred or evaluated for special education services, raising concerns that children with disabilities aren’t getting the help they need. District administrators and special education teachers cite a host of challenges: staffing shortages, increased paperwork, new demands related to remote learning, and a hesitation to designate kids as having learning disabilities when they may be suffering the effects of remote learning and pandemic-related family trauma instead.

Some of these (books) might already be on your radar as overtly friendship stories, while some of these books are less obvious with their friendship themes — but still worth picking up! They cover everything from the painful process of making new friends, navigating complicated friend groups and dynamics, being lonely and discovering a new friend, friendship break ups, and friendships that evolve into something more!

When a Colombian girl named Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz) discovers that her family’s magic is starting to fail in Encanto, she must figure out how to save the Family Madrigal and bring magic back to their casa. Here are some books for readers who are enjoying the movie and music.

Anton Treuer's original Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask was published in 2012. The new version for young people is getting good critical attention, including a Kirkus starred review.

Recent research has found a significant rise in obesity rates among children and teens over the course of the pandemic, accelerating an already troubling upward trend. Schools, a key source of proper nutrition and physical education, are positioned to help head off this trend. But efforts to tackle the problem face stiff competition for educators’ attention alongside the ongoing pandemic, staff shortages, and the need to make up for lost academic ground.