ELL News Headlines

The state of Illinois is home to the fifth-largest Spanish-speaking population in the United States, with thousands of children from bilingual homes heading to Illinois schools. As the university that provides one out of every eight teachers in the state, Illinois State's College of Education is making strides to equip current and future elementary school teachers with the skill set to teach English learners and bilingual children in the classroom.

After a sizable earthquake struck near Mexico City on Tuesday and Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico on Wednesday, Northwest Indiana residents with ties to both areas are watching closely and waiting to hear from loved ones.

A 7.1 earthquake shook the region near Mexico City on Tuesday, knocking down buildings and killing dozens of people. Judy Woodruff learns more about the destruction from Richard Ensor of The Economist.

In 2015, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha discovered the lead contamination after Flint, Mich., switched its drinking water source. She talks with NPR's Michel Martin about helping reverse the problem.

Despite legislation already on the runway in Congress, it's unclear whether lawmakers will approve permanent legal protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States illegally when they were minors — even as President Donald Trump sends strong signals he wants such a deal for the so-called "Dreamers." Also unclear: what if any role education policy will play in those arguments in Washington.

Abeer and Nora al-Sheikh Bakri are sisters from Douma, Syria. They fled their homeland in 2012 after their country's civil war engulfed the city. They spent four years in Egypt before being resettled in Clarkson, Georgia, in 2016 with other members of their families. Suffice to say they know what it’s like to watch homes crumble before their eyes. So when Hurricane Irma bore its weight down on the southeastern U.S., displacing more than half a million people by Sunday, they sprung into action.

Last spring, in a weathered trailer in Bar Elias, Lebanon within walking distance from the nearby refugee camps, Syrian teenagers were hard at work at Arabic, math, science, and English lessons. For many of the students in the makeshift schoolhouse, refugees who have fled war and violence in their home country, it was the first time they had sat in a classroom in years.

Children caught in natural or man-made disasters can suffer from trauma and bereavement far longer than adults realize, and this can affect not only how well they perform at school but also the trajectory of their lives, researchers say. Floodwaters eventually recede, power is restored, buildings are repaired and daily routines begin again, but many children struggle, finding it difficult to concentrate, do schoolwork and sleep. Some are scared to leave home for school, fearful something will happen to them or their families. And at school, some will act out, leading to suspension and expulsion, while others can’t concentrate, said David Schonfeld, head of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at the University of Southern California.

This Friday, September 15, kicks off National Hispanic Heritage Month, a four-week celebration of the cultures, histories, and peoples of Spanish, Mexican, Caribbean, and Central and South American descent. The following fiction, nonfiction, and professional reading titles explore the myriad ways in which Latinx young people navigate family, friendships, school, and public life in North America — and all are unforgettable reads.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has announced the awarding of $20 million in grants under the National Professional Development Program (NPD), to support educators of English learner students.