ELL News Headlines

On Sept. 20, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, initially wiping out electricity and cellular reception on the entire island and causing billions of dollars in structural damage. Nearly four months later, much of the island still has no power and there are debates over the official death toll. Although the island officially reopened its doors to tourism last month, locals and natives note that the Christmas holiday was understandably scaled back compared to years past. But while Christmas was subdued, morale on the island was being re-energized by this weekend's celebration of Three Kings Day.

Dual-immersion seems to be good at everything — for everybody. It’s popular with English-dominant families, it's good for ELs, it's effective at promoting integration and multilingualism. But — and here's the rub — if a two-way dual-immersion program helps generate middle-class interest in multilingualism, that dynamic could also undermine the program’s design and effectiveness. What happens when rising demand from privileged families starts pushing English learners out of these programs? Advocates for educational equity are already seeing this specific problem play out in their communities.

The most significant change for schools in the Republican tax reform plan is likely how state and local taxes are handled because of its potential impact on school funding. But why? And where could it have the greatest impact? Buckle up. 

Each year, states publish "report cards" on student performance in K-12 education, as measured by math and reading tests, graduation rates, and other key indicators. For the public, this information provides a critical snapshot of school quality. Now, as states shift to the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, federal law requires these report cards to include more meaningful data on English learner students.

Visit an elementary school in Kentucky's Jefferson County Public Schools and you may find students doing partner yoga poses. The activity, part of a massive study of a "whole-child" education program called the Compassionate Schools Project, has several purposes. When students do these partner poses, they practice mindfulness — paying attention to their own bodies — and they learn how to cooperate and problem-solve with a peer. It's a physical activity that asks students to practice balance and agility while also engaging them mentally and socially.

Remezcla wanted to learn more about how first-generation Latino students – those who are the first in their families to graduate from college – navigate the uncharted waters that they encounter. The team interviewed seven undergraduate and graduate students, 6 women and one man between the ages of 21 and 30, to understand what it takes to succeed at institutions that are often not equipped to support first-gen students. While their circumstances widely varied from one another, the Remezcla team found that they all credited their families and the connections they made during college as key to their success. Here are their stories.

Senate and House Republican leaders have agreed to abandon many of the controversial proposals that higher-education leaders and students had rallied to thwart, according to congressional aides. Under the agreement, tuition waivers received by graduate students remain tax-free, students can still deduct loan interest payments and bonds that colleges use for construction stay interest-free.

Andi Sharma is a senior policy analyst for the government of Manitoba's Northern Healthy Foods Initiative. In this piece about losing heritage languages, she writes, "It's a very odd feeling, the moment you realize you've lost your connection to your heritage. That moment happened for me when I was 11."

Nury Castillo was just 10 years old when she first arrived in the United States. A petite, black-haired girl with big eyes, Castillo barely knew how to undo her own braids, let alone learn to speak English. Of that time in her life, Castillo vividly remembers the bedroom she shared with her parents and two sisters, in her aunt's home in Indiana. Castillo's parents emigrated from Peru in the 1970s, in search of a better life. Castillo's experience as an immigrant, including the challenges she faced and the assimilation process to living in the U.S., is all chronicled in her new book, '3,585 Miles to be an American Girl.'

Ranferi Avilez is meeting friends for a late lunch. It’s unseasonably hot in Houston for mid-October, but instead of spending his Saturday as he normally does, pouring cold brews and squirting whipped cream on iced caramel macchiatos, the 18-year-old, who received his work permit via DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is doing something special for himself: He is taking a day off. Finances are a big reason so few of these young people go to college, but the steep and rising costs — exacerbated by the fact that most states require undocumented immigrants to pay out-of-state tuition at public universities, even if they have lived and paid taxes in the state for years — is just one of the obstacles these teens face. Many must also help support their families. They usually lack mentors to help them prepare for college, even when — as is often the case — they would be the first in their families to go.