ELL News Headlines

Resettled to this city's southern suburbs after 20 years in Nepalese refu­gee camps, Bhanu Phuyel has acclimated and prospered. In the nine years since two Jewish refu­gee agencies helped him join this community, Phuyel has worked at McDonald's and the post office, as a long-haul trucker and as a caretaker for older people, he said. In 2013, he opened his own jewelry store, and he has since purchased rental apartments. But this week, Bhutanese refugees such as Phuyel and the aid agencies that brought him here were disturbingly reminded that there are those who do not welcome them in Pittsburgh.

Fred Rogers, the public television star, was one of Squirrel Hill's most famous residents. He also, in times of crisis, had advice for the media and those watching.

President Trump is vowing to sign an executive order that would seek to end the right to U.S. citizenship for children born in the United States to noncitizens, a move most legal experts say runs afoul of the Constitution.

At New York City's Harvest Collegiate High School on Monday, social studies teacher Andy del Calvo did what educators often do: He adapted his lesson for the times. He shared news stories about the massacre of 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue and about last week's shooting of two African-Americans at a Kentucky supermarket, and urged his students to think.  This weekend's mass shooting at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue, carried out by a shooter authorities have said targeted the Jewish community and expressed anti-immigrant sentiments online, strikes at the heart of rising concerns about how bias shapes people’s thinking and where the school system should fit in pushing back on those mentalities.

How can educators, caregivers and family members given children and teenagers the tools they need to understand what has happened and take steps to challenge bias and hate in safe and effective ways?  These points begin to answer that question and start a frank conversation that can lead to greater awareness and understanding.

Visitors to a children's museum in Pittsburgh react to Saturday's shooting at The Tree of Life synagogue.

While moments of hatred and violence may feel all-too-common these days, Teaching Tolerance offers resources in this edition of The Moment to talk to your students about how hate takes hold and what they can do to fight it.

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Tarek El-Messidi, one of the main organizers of the fundraiser "Muslims Unite for Pittsburgh Synagogue," which fundraised $60,000 in 24 hours.

The aid agency has transformed itself over the past decade from a group that aids refugees because they are Jewish to a group of Jews that aids refugees.

In this opinion piece for the PBS NewsHour, ELL administrator Kristina Robertson (a frequent contributor to Colorín Colorado), writes, "As they face an uncertain future, immigrant children – regardless of immigration status – are experiencing high levels of stress… Parents, community members and teachers have a critical role to play, including learning some of the basics about immigration policy and how to talk with a growing segment of anxious youth."