The state of New Mexico has 53,071 students enrolled in grades K-12, making up just 16.1% of the school population. Within this group Spanish is spoken by a large majority with Navajo, Nias, German, and Vietnamese making up the top five languages currently spoken by non-English speaking students. The state has also adopted the English language development framework of WIDA. … Read More
What Can Title III Funds be Used for in Parent Involvement Efforts?
What Can Title III Funds be Used for in Parent Involvement Efforts? Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is the funding component that gives states the necessary financial resources to develop standards-based learning initiatives and programs for English Language Learners (ELLs) in the form of subgrants. These funds are designed to improve the academic outcomes toward … Read More
What Issues do Teachers of ELLs Face?
Teaching is universally a rewarding but challenging job. For ELL teachers, a unique set of challenges present themselves. Students with Diverse Abilities and Needs A current ELL classroom in the U.S. can contain students of varying countries of origin, English speaking and writing abilities, and cultural identities. An ELL teacher has to assess, get to know, teach, and support all … Read More
English Learner Programs and Resources in Virginia
The state of Virginia has a total enrollment of 1,263,660 students in grades K-12 in the state public school system. 99,897 of them are English Language Learners making up 7.9% of the student population as of years 2012-2013. The vast majority of ELL students in Virginia speak Spanish, with Arabic, Vietnamese, Urdu, and Korean rounding out the top five other … Read More
ESSA Increases State DSS Funding
Every Student Succeeds Act – ESSA In December of 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the latest update to federal education law and a bipartisan bill that aims to repair “the overuse of standardized tests and one-size-fits all mandates” and to empower “states and school districts to develop their own strategies for improvement.” One provision of … Read More
3 Ways to Connect Art with Literacy for Preschool
Lectura Books – 3 Ways to Connect Art with Literacy for Preschool 1. Preschoolers are highly visual creatures. They are engaged through sight as much as they are through touch. Bright colors and shiny objects are just some of the items that capture their attention and engage their imagination. By contrast, getting them to understand the basics of literacy can … Read More
Where are All the English Learners?
English Language Learners – ELLs English Language Learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing section of the U.S. student population today. The National Council of Teachers of English shares that “ELLs now comprise 10.5 percent of the nation’s K–12 enrollment, up from 5 percent in 1990.” While ELLs are a diverse group of students who have varying socio-economic standing and language … Read More
What are the New Rules for ELLs in NYC Schools?
In 2016, the New York City Department of Education set forth new standards and rules for English language instruction in all schools. These new rules were intended to guarantee additional language instruction and support to New York’s growing ELL population but, unfortunately, as Parent Herald puts it, “New York schools are having a difficult time implementing these rules.” Read on to learn … 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