ELL News Headlines

Chattanooga helped recruit and train over 75 bilingual volunteers to work with 14 Hamilton County public schools during the county-wide school registration day. Volunteers requested time off from their employers to help Chattanooga's Latino and Hispanic students enroll in school for the upcoming academic year. 

Lizandro Claros Saravia was supposed to be at college in North Carolina by now. At soccer practice. At the library. Instead, the 19-year-old soccer star from Germantown, Md., is hundreds of miles away, in a sweltering Central American nation he barely recognizes and sometimes fears. U.S. immigration officials swiftly deported him and his older brother, Diego, on Aug. 2, days after Lizandro told them during a routine check-in that he had a scholarship to attend Louisburg College. "I don't know what we're going to do," Lizandro, his gaze flat, said in an interview here last week as he and his brother waited to pick up their 83-year-old grandfather — who had been visiting the United States on a visa when his grandsons were deported — from the airport. "I feel like in this country, I don't have a future."

For many teachers who've recently become moms, the beginning of this school year will mark a new era of juggling the demands of the classroom and parenthood. Among the greatest hurdles many mothers say they face when returning to school: finding the time, space, and support to pump breast milk for their babies. Teaching also has a high attrition rate compared to many other professions, and more than a third of teachers who left voluntarily, according to previous federal data, said they did so primarily because of personal reasons, including pregnancy and child care. Of the professionals she sees, "honestly, I think teachers have it the hardest," said Gina Boling, a lactation consultant at the Breastfeeding Center for Greater Washington, in the District of Columbia. They "just don't have the flexibility that somebody at a desk job has."

Supporters of the immigration program to shield immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation suffered a setback Thursday after a ruling by a Brownsville federal judge that puts more pressure on President Donald Trump to decide the program's future.

Native Spanish speakers who have been teaching in English-only classrooms are the focus of specialized training in many districts across California to meet the increased demand for bilingual teachers. Fresno and many other districts throughout the state are adding back bilingual programs as a result of the passage last November of Prop. 58, which ended a mandate for mostly English-only classes for students who come to school speaking other languages.

Eclipses, both lunar and solar, play a fascinating part in Cherokee legend. Kathi Littlejohn, a member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, said the solar eclipse on Aug. 21 likely would have sparked a wild ceremony in the 1700s.

A Washington-based think tank is looking to bring clarity to the complicated process of understanding and using data about English-language learners. Arguing that data for ELLs is too often misused and misunderstood, New America released two companion reports this week that offer guidance for educators and advocates who want to evaluate this student population accurately and treat these students equitably.

Nearly 1 in 4 high-achieving, low-income students apply to college completely on their own, according to a new report by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (which is a financial supporter of NPR). The report looks at the barriers these students face, drawing on surveys of low-income students and interviews with admissions officers at selective schools. When I spoke with the report's author, Jennifer Glynn, she acknowledged that high schools and counselors play a role, but said colleges can do a lot more, too.

Yousafzai, the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and campaigner for the rights of all children to attend school, has written her first picture book. It is an autobiographical account of her life designed for younger readers. She gently introduces her childhood in Pakistan and recounts a favorite TV show where a young boy has a magic pencil that he uses to help people. The magic pencil becomes a reoccurring motif throughout the work on how to make the world a better place.

Eighty percent of Virginia students passed state reading tests this year, equal to the previous year’s results, as data released Tuesday showed minimal changes in performance on several academic subjects. But English learners made significant strides in narrowing achievement gaps. Statewide, 64 percent of those students passed in reading, up three points from 2016. Some school officials attributed the gain to better approaches for teaching students English, including transitioning more of them to general education classes even before they are totally proficient.