ELL News Headlines

Radio B'alam is a streaming audio program reaching thousands of Mayan Guatemalans in the Bay Area who speak a language called Mam. The name of the show translates to Radio Jaguar, a historical reference to the Mam king who led his people up a mountain to escape Spanish invaders. The program's 27-year-old founder Henry Sales says his show's name and the historical reference are appropriate.

A record number of unaccompanied minors are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border and Border Patrol facilities are overwhelmed. Agencies are scrambling to find shelter for them, and they say they need more help. About 5,000 children are being held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in emergency influx shelters. What does their reality look like on the ground at the border? And what should the U.S. government do about it? Dulce Garcia, Leah Chavla and Caitlin Dickerson join us for the conversation.

It's been a year since teachers were handed an unprecedented request: Educate students in entirely new ways amid the backdrop of a pandemic. In this comic series, we'll illustrate one teacher's story each week from now until the end of the school year. This week, Lori Chavez, a middle school social studies teacher in Kewa Pueblo, N.M., discusses the importance of staying connected to your community during lockdown.

The Office of English Language Acquisition gave Larry Ferlazzo permission to reprint an updated map showing ELLs as a percentage of total student enrollment by local education agencies.

President Joe Biden proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday that would provide $100 billion for new school construction and upgrades to existing buildings, meeting a long-time push by some education advocacy groups.

Native American communities will be receiving a big boost in the most recent COVID-19 relief bill — according to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, this bill includes the largest federal investment in Native American communities in the country's entire history, with $31.2 billion devoted to funding Tribal governments and their communities. The bill includes a $20 million grant for preserving Native American languages and mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Native languages, which tend to be spoken more widely among older populations who are more susceptible to the virus.

This week's question of the week is, "What are good ways to have students learn about — and use — primary sources?" This is the final post in a two-part series and includes strategies for English learners.

Among the more daunting challenges President Biden faces in the coming year will be to make good on his goal of admitting 10 times as many refugees — 125,000 — as former President Donald Trump allowed to enter the United States last year. During his presidency, Trump ordered drastic cutbacks in the U.S. refugee program. Given how much work is necessary to resettle a single refugee family, however, the prospect of vastly and suddenly increased refugee admissions is barely feasible, in large part because the refugee resettlement infrastructure has been eroded over the past four years.

Book fairs at Lake George (NY) Elementary School are the social event of the year. One winter, the fair included a reader's theater and book wrapping for the holidays. For spring, there was a sip-and-read, where students and families curled up with their favorite titles and some hot chocolate. But after the COVID-19 pandemic moved schools online last March, the Lake George Elementary book fair—like many across the country—was canceled. When the district reopened for in-person learning in the fall, school library media specialist Bridget Crossman wanted to re-create that community engagement.

The shootings of Asian people at three Atlanta spas earlier this month have set up a unique test for K-12 schools: Will they step up and grapple with anti-Asian racism, offering crucial supports to students and seizing the chance to teach about anti-Asian violence? Or will they overlook it?