ELL News Headlines

In Maritza Bermudez's home, the goal has been to speak Spanish as much as possible. But starting next school year, Korean will be thrown into the mix. Bermudez, who lives in Anaheim, is enrolling one of her children in a Korean/English language immersion program – the first of its kind in Orange County and part of a growing trend throughout Southern California.

It's official: The university that serves more Latino students (5,439) than any other higher education institution in Colorado has earned the federal designation of Hispanic-Serving Institution, a status that unlocks access to millions of dollars in grant opportunities and corroborates Metropolitan State University of Denver’s decade-long effort to better reflect and serve Colorado.

The Council of the Great City Schools and Los Angeles Unified School District have launched the first phase of a nationwide initiative to improve the quality of instructional materials for English-language learners — and the training for teachers who work with them.

Education Week was in El Paso to cover a teach-in organized by "Teachers Against Child Detention." It's a group started by Mandy Manning, the 2018 National Teacher of the Year, who said she was "appalled" by the Trump administration's practice of separating and detaining children for months away from their parents. She organized this event in west Texas, and hundreds of teachers from all over the country showed up in support, including a contingent that traveled from Alaska 3,000 miles away. John King, former U.S. secretary of education, and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, spoke out in support. So did several state teachers of the year. Here's what 10 of these award-winning teachers had to say.

A collection of nationally-known English-language-learner scholars are challenging the "assumptions, approach, and findings" of recent research that suggests struggling ELLs could benefit from being retained in 3rd grade.

Spanish remains the most commonly spoken language in the United States after English. Research finds that children benefit from growing up bilingual, but how can schools and parents help kids dominate both languages?

Teachers in Oakland, California, went on strike Thursday, part of a national wave of discontent by educators over classroom conditions, pay and other issues. Recent walkouts have taken place in West Virginia, Los Angeles and Denver. The city's 3,000 teachers want a 12 percent retroactive raise covering 2017 to 2020 to compensate for what they say are the among the lowest salaries for public school teachers in the expensive San Francisco Bay Area. They also want the district to hire more counselors to support students and more full-time nurses.

Cleveland native Toni McWilliams didn’t feel like she was putting her bachelor's and master’s degrees in business administration to good use working as an administrative secretary for a middle school in her hometown. The job, which paid around $19,000, barely brought in enough money to support her two young daughters. So McWilliams decided to try teaching. "My mom had always encouraged me to teach," she said. But there was one big obstacle standing in the way: the Praxis exams.

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, in partnership with the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at The University of Southern Mississippi, announced today the winners of the 2019 Ezra Jack Keats Award. Each year an outstanding writer and illustrator are recognized early in their careers for having created an extraordinary children’s book that reflects the diverse nature of our culture. The 2019 award ceremony will be held on April 4th, during the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, said, "It is a joy and a privilege each year to recognize and support new writers and illustrators who create beautiful and entertaining books that reflect the childhood experiences of our diverse population."

Some of the nation's top teachers recently gathered in El Paso, Texas, to speak out against the government’s practice of detaining children who cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Dismissing the notion that they shouldn't get involved in political advocacy, teachers said they see some U.S. policy and procedures as "abusive." Special correspondent Kavitha Cardoza of Education Week reports.