ELL News Headlines

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?

So much of teaching a new language happens in the small moments: in the chatter among peers, in asking to use the bathroom. This year, with New York City public schools shuttered so frequently due to coronavirus cases, students had far fewer opportunities for these casual conversations and questions, said Rebecca Quiñones, a second grade dual-language teacher at P.S. 139 in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.

High school librarian Lindsay Klemas writes, "As I taught with a baby strapped to my chest, my students showed me extraordinary empathy."

After making a major shift to remote learning at the beginning of the pandemic, some teachers had to adjust to another unfamiliar environment when their school buildings reopened: teaching students online and in-person at the same time. Engaging, monitoring and supporting two sets of students with very different needs is a complex juggling act that some teachers have described as their biggest challenge ever.

As the Biden administration continues to face questions about its response plan to stem the influx of migrants, Senior National Correspondent Amna Nawaz was on the southern border last night, watching as several people crossed into the United States. She reports on the ground realities from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas.

As the Department of Education releases $122 billion directly to states as part of the American Rescue Plan, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona is encouraging states to make sure students who have been hit hardest by COVID-19 are provided with the resources and support they need.  American Rescue Plan funds can be used by SEAs and school districts to equitably expand opportunities for students who need the funds most, including students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, students with disabilities, English learners, students experiencing homelessness, and students with inadequate access to technology.

On Monday Christine Chen, of Boulder, packed her kids into the car and headed to grandma and grandpa's house. She hadn't seen her parents in weeks and wanted to have a face-to-face conversation about rising hate against people of Asian descent, including the elderly. Then word came of an active shooter at the King Soopers in South Boulder. The store is only a few blocks from her home. Chen realized she was going to have to have a conversation about violence with her kids, not just her parents. Rather than hearing from someone else, she told them "something bad happened in our neighborhood and we did not know very much information."