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Governor Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula Initiative (LCFF) is California’s recent funding law that puts the most comprehensive emphasis yet on the importance of family and other stakeholders in the educational progress of school children in grades K-12. Through the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), a vital component of the initiative, school districts are tasked with meeting eight specific … Read More
Understanding Basic Terms and Definitions for English Learners
Understanding Basic Terms and Definitions for English Learners The following are some terms that you’ve no doubt heard before, but you may be unclear on the definitions that are associated with each of them. This primer should help to better delineate between the most commonly used acronyms and jargon that parents and teachers alike might find confusing. ESL: English as … Read More
5 Best Ways to Help ELLs with Academic Success
5 Best Ways to Help ELLs with Academic Success If you’ve ever spent an extended period of time in a foreign country whose language you do not know, you know how hard it is to navigate. Can you imagine trying to learn math or science or literature in that foreign language, especially if the alphabet is different than your childhood … Read More
Research Connects Language Development to Socioeconomic Status
Research demonstrates that there is a direct influence between socioeconomic status, cognitive growth, and language development in the early years. Even before a child is born, it is communicating with the world around it. Sensitive to the sound of human voices, a child can recognize its mother’s voice in the womb as well as turn its head toward someone who … Read More
Surveys Find Children Prefer Print Books
Recent surveys have established that children would rather read a physical book in print than e-books. A 2016 survey by BookTrust in the UK found that 76% of surveyed parents said that their children prefer print books to e-books for reading for pleasure, and 69% prefer print books for education. Children do like the simple pleasures of holding a book … Read More
Communication Skills Better With Bilingual / Multilingual Kids
Researcher Katherine Kinzler recently wrote an op-ed in the New York Times about a study she conducted with other researchers and a follow-up study, both of which underlined the social advantages of bilingualism and that communication skills were better with bilingual / multilingual kids. Her study, published in the journal, Psychological Science, showed that children who speak more than one … Read More
Texas Parent Involvement Policy
If you are a Texas school or district receiving Title I funds, then implementing a Parent Involvement Policy is a requirement. Establishing a good policy may take a significant amount of teamwork and tactic, however, having a well-planned policy greatly supports the role of parents in their children’s education and helps connect schools and districts with their students’ families. A … Read More
Top Languages Spoken at Home with English Learners
We hear a lot about English Learners, but who are they and which are the top languages spoken at home? The Spanish language is the second most spoken language in the United States after English. There are more Spanish speakers in the U.S. than there are speakers of Chinese, French, German, Italian, Hawaiian, and the Native American languages combined. The … Read More
PBS announces New Kids Channel with Educational Content Services
PBS Launches New Kids Channel with Educational Content Services According to the PBS Socal: PBS announced that it will launch new 24/7 children’s services later this year. Provided by local stations, the free services include a new TV channel and live stream on digital platforms. Viewers will be able to watch the station-branded live stream through pbskids.org and on … Read More
7 Tips from Schools for ELL Success – A Stanford Graduate Study
7 Tips from Schools for ELL Success – Stanford Graduate Study A research team from the Stanford Graduate School of Education released a study last month outlining the common practices and values of the top 6 high schools responsible for having an exemplary record of graduated and career-ready ELLs. The researchers profiled 7 key elements shared by all schools that … Read More