The state of Washington has an ELL population of 107,307 students in the public school system. With a total enrollment of 1,051,694, ELLs make up just over 10% of the students enrolled in grades K-12. The five languages spoken by ELLs are Spanish, followed by Russian, Vietnamese, Somali, and Chinese. The following is a list of useful resources and programs … Read More
Home-School Connections with Parents of ELL Students
Home-School Connections with Parents of ELL Students Successful parental engagement for ELL students starts with getting the parents actively involved. Unfortunately, this can be a much tougher obstacle to navigate than one might expect. There are a variety of hindrances in the path to engagement with parents of ELL’s, most of them rooted in a reluctance on the part of … Read More
Useful Support Resources for ELL Students in New York
In the state of New York, ELL enrollment was 237,499 students in the state public school system in 2012-2013, making up over 14% of the classroom population. 61% of all ELL students in the state speak Spanish, with Chinese, Arabic, Bengali, and Haitian representing the next four most common spoken languages at 19% combined. The following is a list of … Read More
James Crawford’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition
We conclude our look at some of the most prominent voices in the second language learning community with James Crawford, who has long been an activist for more effective bilingual education policies. A former editor of the online magazine, Education Week, Crawford has written numerous essays and books discussing language policy in schools, advocating for sensible language-learning legislation, pushing for … Read More
Parental Involvement and the Impact on School Success
Parental Involvement and the Impact on School Success There is little debate that a parent’s engagement in a child’s learning is highly beneficial. A number of studies have shown the extent of the positive impacts that healthy parental involvement can provide with marked improvements in attendance, behavioral patterns, and social skills, as well as better grades and test scores, resulting … Read More
How an Anti-bias Curriculum Benefits the School Community
An anti-bias preschool curriculum is one that seeks to acknowledge and challenge prejudices in education and works to remove them from the teaching and learning environment. Schools using an anti-bias curriculum are acknowledging that many Western societies, though growingly diverse, continue to function with inherent inequity and racial cultural bias, and that this naturally carries over into education, which is … Read More
Resourceful Programs in Illinois for ELL Students
With an approximate ELL enrollment of 9.2% among grades K-12, Illinois has 190,172 English Language Learners in the state public school system as of years 2012-2013. 80% of ELL students in Illinois speak Spanish, with Arabic, Polish, Chinese, and Urdu making up the majority of the most common languages spoken by these families, in that order. The following is a … Read More
The Seal of Biliteracy Initiative
The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given to bilingual students upon high school graduation. The Seal of Biliteracy Initiative began in California and has now been adopted in 17 states, with more in progress. The national Seal of Biliteracy site states that: “The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by a school, school district, or county office of … Read More
Support for Programs with English Learner Students in Texas
The State of Texas has the second largest ELL enrollment at 773,732 students in the public school system as of years 2012-2013. The state is second only to California with a 15% ELL share among all students enrolled in grades K-12, but first in the nation with respect to the percentage of ELL students who speak Spanish at 90%. Spanish … Read More
Resources for ELL and LCAP in California
ELL and LCAP With an approximate ELL enrollment of 1,521,772 students in the state public school system in 2012-2013, California currently holds the largest percentage of ELL student enrollment in grades K-12 in the country at almost 25%. The state also accounts for one-third of the districts with the highest concentration of ELL students in the United States, the largest … Read More