ELL News Headlines

The month of May is dedicated to both Asian American Pacific Islander heritage and mental health awareness. The youth mental health podcast "On Our Minds," which is part of Student Reporting Labs network, takes a look at the toll Asian American stereotypes take on teen mental health and well being. Podcast host Faiza Ashar delves into the topic with student filmmaker Mabelen Bonifacio.

For students who reach middle school without strong reading skills, these misread words turn into roadblocks that impede understanding and make it harder to learn. A new program at Alameda International Junior/Senior High School in Lakewood seeks to help. 

At a House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties meeting today to “examine the ongoing efforts to prohibit discussion in K-12 classrooms about American history, race, and LGBTQ+ issues, and to punish teachers who violate vague and discriminatory state laws by discussing these topics,” a letter signed by 1,300 children’s literature authors was read into the record. It was signed by authors of different generations and genres, award winners, and bestsellers, including Christina Soontornvat — who drafted the letter — Jason Reynolds, Judy Blume, Rick Riordan, Jacqueline Woodson, Dav Pilkey, Alex Gino, Jenny Han, Jeff Kinney, Angie Thomas, and Yuyi Morales.

Tagwa Mohmed remembers harvesting ripe, red tomatoes as a child growing up in her native country of Sudan. Gardening there was just part of life, and her family planted everything under the sun.

With the Supreme Court signaling a willingness to reverse decades-old precedents like the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said on Thursday that he would seek to overturn a 1982 court decision that obligated public schools to educate all children, including undocumented immigrants.

New York City education officials are planning to expand the number of transfer high schools that can serve students learning English as a new language, using a Bronx school for newcomer immigrants as one model, according to a top department official.

The federal government recently detailed for the first time the brutality and treatment Native American children suffered when they were forcibly moved into U.S. boarding schools during the course of 150 years. Deborah Parker, CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and a member of the Tulalip Tribe in Washington, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss.

In this column, high school junior Fernanda Rodas writes, "Spanish is my first language, but early on, I attended an all-English school outside of my district zone to receive personalized English academics in a smaller classroom setting — something I wouldn’t have received if I had participated at a large elementary school within the zone. Because my academics were in English, I slowly withdrew from speaking Spanish at home. Though I have started using Spanish daily, I still struggle to speak it confidently after seven years of mostly speaking English. Due to my experiences losing my native language, I became interested in exploring how native Spanish speakers, who are usually on the south side of town in large elementary schools, can be disadvantaged in receiving a good education with equal resources."

The California Department of Education plans to establish more than 1,600 dual language immersion programs in schools across the state by 2030. But in order to reach that goal, the state would need to credential at least 2,000 new bilingual teachers statewide each year. That's where the math gets difficult.

The All-Island School Committee was introduced to a plan to recruit teachers from Brazil during a Thursday evening meeting. Discussion and decisions about the plan will be made at each of the Island’s local school committees, according to Martha’s Vineyard Superintendent Matt D’Andrea. To meet the educational needs of the Island, a plan was hatched to partner with the Maryland-based nonprofit Teachers Council to bring in teachers from Brazil with H-1B visas.