ELL News Headlines

It all started with a Thanksgiving dinner last November, when Sloane Davidson hosted a family of Syrian refugees to share in the great American tradition of roast turkey, cranberry sauce, and pecan pie. The two families kept in touch, and soon Davidson invited them to more of her family gatherings. That friendship has now grown into something bigger: Hello Neighbor, a mentorship program that matches American families with refugee and immigrant families who have recently arrived in the United States.

A federal judge has ruled that Arizona's ban on ethnic studies courses was motivated by racial discrimination. The state violated students' constitutional rights "because both enactment and enforcement were motivated by racial animus," Judge A. Wallace Tashima wrote in a ruling issued Tuesday.

Every school day just over 80,000 foreign-speaking students show up for school throughout Connecticut That’s one in seven students. As part of its recent exploration of issues surrounding English-language learners, the Connecticut Mirror wanted to hear what these students feel is helping them. Here are a few of their stories.

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.