ELL News Headlines

Talk about a storybook ending. Author Jamil Jan Kochai searched for more than a decade for Susan Lung — the second-grade teacher who had changed his life over 20 years earlier. And on Saturday night, in one of those "life is better than fiction" twists, the two were finally reunited at one of his book-reading events.

A colleague from Kyiv, Ukraine, whom I’ll call N.M., sent me brief essays her students wrote on what they would do when the war ends. As both a scholar and a novelist, I knew that these voices, which expressed a beautifully straightforward and pure yearning for the simplest things that are lost in war, needed to be heard by the world.

Designing instruction that is accessible to English learners (ELs), or multilingual learners, is of the utmost importance. It’s simply not enough to make content available to learners. That’s like being given a car but no keys to use it. Equitable instruction is instruction that provides every learner with what they need for academic success.

A growing number of children’s book authors and literacy activists have been pushing for more bilingual books for kids. That objective resonates with many bilingual households, particularly in California, where more than a quarter of residents speak Spanish as a first language.

Outdoor play is linked to improved outcomes in children’s social-emotional, cognitive, and physical development as well as academic gains. Early childhood outdoor learning environments (OLE) where educators use their training, professional development, and technical assistance to engage young children can promote structured and unstructured physical activity, play, and discovery. Improving OLEs in child care centers and homes is a low-cost and high-impact strategy for improving program quality, educator well-being, and children’s learning and health. Yet few child care programs receive the funding, guidance, or support to improve their outdoor settings beyond minimum health and safety requirements.

The Indiana Department of Education has offered an early look into its priorities for the upcoming legislative session, which include nearly doubling the funding for teaching English language learner students. 

Sara Almoula understands what many refugee students have been through. She was 14 when her family came to West Springfield in May 2010 as refugees from Iraq.

Elda Dorado has worked in fruit tree orchards in The Dalles, OR for more than 30 years. She joins us to talk about what’s changed during her time in agriculture, and how she now helps fellow farmworkers in her current roles as an English Language Learners assistant in the North Wasco County School District and as a bilingual home-school liaison for the local Migrant Education Program.

Jimmy Greene has now lived with grief longer than his daughter lived. "There's a saying in our culture that time heals all wounds," Greene said. "I wouldn't say that's true in my case." Ana Grace Márquez-Greene was one of 20 children and six educators killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. "I would say that over time, I've become more familiar with the grief," Greene said. "I'm able to manage it a bit more." He reflected, "Whenever I think of my daughter, I just think of how loving she was, how much joy she carried in her and how much joy she reflected back out to the world."

In this moving "Note to Self" feature from CBS Morning, Isaiah Márquez-Greene reflects on the devastating loss of his little sister, Ana Grace, who was killed at at Sandy Hook Elementary ten years ago and how the tragedy shaped the young man he is today.