ELL News Headlines

In the first big election since teachers across the country walked out of their classrooms this spring, dozens of current teachers claimed state legislative seats — joining the policymaking bodies that greatly influence pay and funding for schools. While 42 teachers won, nearly 80 teachers — or two-thirds of those on the ballot — lost their legislative bids in Tuesday’s midterm elections, according to an Education Week analysis. Still, educators remain hopeful that the tide is turning — that after the series of teacher walkouts that swept the country, voters are paying more attention to education. (Note: An Illinois legislature race that includes a bilingual teacher as one of the candidates is currently separated by a single vote.)

Students across Maine can now be recognized for being proficient in multiple languages as part of a new initiative from the state's Department of Education. The agency announced Monday that beginning in May, it will offer a new award, called the Seal of Biliteracy, that will be featured on student transcripts. To earn the seal, students will need to show proficiency in English and another language.

When a group of Central American teenagers at a New Orleans charter school wanted a soccer team, it looked like the teenagers would have to do without the advantages sports participation could bring: The nonprofit that governs Louisiana's high school sports won't allow most of the Central American students to play. The Louisiana High School Athletic Association requires all student-athletes to present some proof of age — a birth certificate or official immigration papers — along with a social security number. Though some of the Central American students are in the country legally or have temporary visas, most do not have the required documents. Frustrated, Cohen teachers and administrators decided this fall to try something different. They started an unsanctioned team.

What is already the most diverse Congress ever will become even more so after Tuesday's elections, which broke barriers of race and gender. For the first time, a pair of Native American congresswomen are headed to the House, in addition to two Muslim congresswoman. Massachusetts and Connecticut will also send black women to Congress as firsts for their states, while Arizona and Tennessee are getting their first female senators.

Larry Proffitt woke up at 4 a.m. on Election Day to set up his campaign signs outside of voting stations around Robertson County. He spent the day shaking hands with area voters. Despite the early wake-up call, he had spent the night before in conferences with students in his eighth-grade history class and their parents. When he found out Tuesday evening that he lost his bid for the Tennessee House of Representatives, Proffitt was quick to say he was going to turn the experience into a classroom lesson the next day. It so happens his students will be studying the development of political parties.

From a pair of Native American women to a Somali refugee to the first openly gay man elected governor, the 2018 midterm elections brought a series of history-making votes that marked major accomplishments for women and LGBT candidates. Here's a rundown of the history made Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.

There were tears of joy and tears of sorrow here at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame tonight, as the "teacher caucus" and its supporters watched the election results roll in. While teachers across the country ran for their state legislatures to champion public education, Tulsa was somewhat of an epicenter for the movement, with about a dozen area educators on the ballot. At least two educators from the group, which deemed itself the "caucus," claimed big victories. Democrats Melissa Provenzano, an assistant principal at Bixby High School, and John Waldron, a social studies teacher at Booker T. Washington High School, both won their races for state House, according to the county Democratic party.

Jahana Hayes, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, has won her race for a U.S. House seat, representing Connecticut's 5th district. A former high school history teacher and current district administrator, Hayes, a Democrat, will be the first black woman from the state to serve in Congress.

Today, we're highlighting Kathleen Argus, a teacher at the Institute of Technology, a public high school in Syracuse, N.Y., who teachers a 12th grade active citizenship course.  Teaching about elections poses some particular challenges in New York, a state that nearly always winds up blue in presidential elections thanks to the dominance of New York City. So, from a certain angle, the midterms are even more important for the state's electorate: That's where upstate districts and counties can really make their voting power felt.

Across the country, undocumented and DACAmented youth are finding lots of ways to participate in the democratic process. Citali Ruiz is one of those young people. She says that while parties and candidates may not view undocumented and DACAmented youth as a "win now" group, they can register voters, attend city council meetings, call their representatives, and organize political rallies and protests — regardless of their citizenship status.