ELL News Headlines

After dangerously cold weather shuttered immigration court in Chicago this week, attorneys were scrambling to get the word out to people in deportation proceedings.

After campaigning on the expansion of preschool and other early-childhood programs, many of the nation’s newly elected governors are following through with budget proposals that include money to support children from cradle to school entry.

Maria B. Salvadore is the 2019 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). This prestigious award honors an individual who has made significant contributions to library service to children and to ALSC. Salvadore is the former coordinator of children's services at the DC Public Library System, and a long-time literacy consultant and advisory board member for various educational non-profits. (She also serves as an advisor for Colorín Colorado's sister project Reading Rockets and has worked on a number of special projects for Colorín Colorado.)

Meg Medina won this year's John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature for her novel "Merci Suarez Changes Gears," the story of an 11-year-old girl who navigates her home life with a Cuban-American extended family and her experiences as a scholarship student at a private school. Medina is the second Latinx writer to win the award — Matt de la Pena won in 2016 for the picture book "Last Stop on Market Street," illustrated by Christian Robinson — and the first to win for a novel.

"It was a big whoops moment," said Meg Medina about the real-life incident that also appears in her novel, "Merci Suárez Changes Gears," which was awarded the 2019 Newbery Award. Medina was a middle school teacher when it happened. Like her 11-year-old main character, Merci, she made a huge mistake on a project about ancient Egypt.

Elizabeth Acevedo, whose debut novel won over the publishing world, critics, and award committees in 2018, continued her streak into the new year as The Poet X nabbed the 2019 Michael L. Printz Award and the Pure Belpré Author Award at the Youth Media Awards ceremony at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting in Seattle on Monday. The Pure Belpré Author Award shocked Acevedo — who says the recognition of a Latinx writer whose work best "best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience" wasn't on her radar as an award she might win. "To get that honor is so special," she says. "There were so many good books this year written by the Latinx community. I was really honored. That one caught me by surprise."

New York University's (NYU) move to waive medical school tuition apparently answered cynics, boosting applications by 47% while more than doubling those from underrepresented groups, Inside Higher Ed reported. The school saw the largest increase among African American, black and Afro-Caribbean applicants.

Girl Scouts CEO Sylvia Acevedo said she was excited to be invited to be an Auditorium Speaker at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Seattle because she wanted to say thank you. "Libraries and librarians changed my life. I would not be who I am today without libraries and librarians," she told the crowd, which included a few young Girl Scouts in their distinctive green uniforms and badges.

Less than three weeks into her tenure as Denver schools superintendent, Susana Cordova stood in the lobby of the district’s downtown headquarters Friday afternoon and apologized. Ringed by television cameras, Cordova said she was shocked the evening before to learn that a district human resources employee had sent an email to schools on Tuesday that said immigrant teachers working in Denver Public Schools on visas would be reported to immigration authorities if they participated in an impending teacher strike. "This was wrong," said Cordova, flanked by three Denver school board members. "I cannot begin to express how shocked I was to learn of this message, and how deeply sorry I am for the anxiety and fear this has caused our educators, our families, and our community."

Larry Ferlazzo’s question of the week is, "How do you promote speaking with English-language learners?" Today's answers come from Sandra C. Figueroa, Cecilia Pattee, Barbara Gottschalk,  Michael D. Toth, Becky Corr, and Susan Michalski.