Reading Aloud to English Learners

Reading is a vital function of teaching ELLs, but reading aloud can be an enriching strategy for keeping students engaged in the components of becoming fluent in the language for many classrooms. By reading to students, instructors can stress the importance of vocabulary, reading comprehension, and foster positive progress towards fluency in the language, while making the learning experience fun … Read More

Americans Love Their Local Schools

One major point stood out like a bright light in the dark in the 47th Annual PDK/Gallup Poll about the public’s attitudes toward public schools – Americans love their local neighborhood schools. According to the poll’s analysis, “Americans consistently give the highest grades to the schools that are closest to them and that they may have more experience with and … Read More

Defining Acculturation and Assimilation

Acculturation and Assimilation A March 2016 report from the Child Trends Hispanic Institute has found that students of Hispanic descent scored higher on national reading proficiency tests than their non-Hispanic peers in Miami-Dade county in Florida. Across the country, reading scores of fourth and eighth graders were consistently higher by half a grade all the way up to four grade … Read More

Bilingual Awareness Growing Across the Country

All across the nation we are seeing the rise of dual language programs. These programs teach in both English and a second language, and they are flourishing. Teachers and educators are seeing the benefit of these programs for both English-language learners and those fluent in English. Dual language programs are showing great promise in in promoting a bi-literate awareness and … Read More

A New Framework for Hispanic Parent Programs

A New Framework for Hispanic Parent Programs Now that Parent Involvement is such a strong national focus, it is important to provide teachers with a whole new framework for Hispanic Parent Programs, if we want parents and kids to become life long readers. Harris County Department of Education formed the Cooperative for After-School Enrichment, or CASE, in 1999 to mobilize … Read More

What is Cultural Competence in the Classroom?

As defined by the National Education Association, cultural competence is “the ability to successfully teach students who come from a culture or cultures other than our own. It entails developing certain personal and interpersonal awareness and sensitivities, understanding certain bodies of cultural knowledge, and mastering a set of skills that, taken together, underlie effective cross-cultural teaching and culturally responsive teaching.” … Read More

Learning a Second Language

Learning a second language is referred to as Second Language Acquisition, and is a major undertaking in any language. How long it takes to acquire a second language will also vary from person to person, based on a variety of reasons. Kids at schools across America are learning English at faster rates than their non-English speaking parents and some kids … Read More

The White House Selects The Latino Family Literacy Project™ for Bright Spot in Hispanic Education

The White House announced on September 15, 2015, that The Latino Family Literacy Project™ is one of the Bright Spots in Excellence for Hispanic Education. The Project was selected because it offers a culturally relevant and bilingual approach to parent involvement for English-language learners, and promotes early learning, English-language development, home family reading routines, and college awareness. “There has been … Read More

Middle / High Parent Involvement for College Awareness

There are many ways for parents to be involved with kids in Preschool and Elementary grades, but what about when kids are in middle school and high school at the very time in their lives when their developmental age is naturally pushing their parents away? In the middle and high school years, students may be seeking more autonomy from their … Read More

Family Phonics™: A New ELL Parent Engagement Tool

Family Phonics™ is a new program and tool for engaging English-language learner (ELL) parents helps schools provide a fun and effective approach for Parent Engagement with the parents of English Learners. Family Phonics™ is our newest program that helps ESL teachers who work with Spanish speaking parents so that parents can learn basic phonemic awareness, in order to help their … Read More