ELL News Headlines

A new coalition of immigrant rights groups and parents held a news conference Wednesday at the Hall of Flags in the state Capitol demanding support for language equity in the education system.

Spanish was my first language. It was the only language I knew until I was 5 and began school in the U.S.  At first, going to school felt scary because I didn’t speak English. I would cry, and explain as best I could that I had a stomachache and needed to go to the nurse. Then I’d tell the nurse I needed to go home. 

Lagging math scores, rising rates of depression and teacher shortages have all contributed to grim conditions for millions of children in California, although some signs of hope shine though the data, a new report from Children Now found.

As the fine-dining chef at her high school served samples of his newest recipes, Anahi Nava Flores gave her critique of a baguette sandwich with Toscano salami, organic Monterey Jack, arugula and a scratch-made basil spread: “This pesto aioli is good!”

Enrollment in Winthrop schools is on the rise, with numbers higher than they were during the Covid-19 pandemic. One area where the increase is being felt most acutely is with the number of English Language Learner students, according to Superintendent of Schools Lisa Howard.

Colorado would boost adult high school diploma programs and also ensure students learn digital literacy skills under two bipartisan bills in the state legislature. Both bills would meet critical needs for Coloradans and also for the state — to produce more educated workers and to train more people for jobs that have been stubbornly hard to fill. Historically, Colorado has ranked at the bottom among states in funding adult education.

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2006, hundreds of welders and pipefitters were recruited from India to come to the Gulf Coast to repair oil rigs. But when they arrived in the U.S., it was nothing like what they were promised. Labor organizer Saket Soni first heard about the situation when he received a midnight phone call from an Indian man who was too frightened to give his name. Soni is founder and director of Resilience Force, a nonprofit that advocates for workers who rebuild communities after weather disasters.

Parents are influential in helping kids navigate the twists and turns that lead to literacy. I offer five teaching tenets to carry with you. Don’t worry, there are no scripted sequences, rigid rules, or worksheets forthcoming. These are principles any parent can remember and apply with ease during long, busy days with young children. Some of the five you may know instinctually. Others may have never crossed your mind. All deserve to be hallmarks of the way we approach raising readers.

In her 20 years as a child care provider, Donise Keller has learned to take a lot in stride. She often puts in 12-hour days. She scrapes by on less than $20,000 a year. But she does it because she loves working with the children in her care, who she fondly refers to as her babies.