ELL Student Resources and Support in New Mexico

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

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

Links and Resources for English Language Learners in Washington

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

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

The Every Student Succeeds Act: ESEA Reauthorization

The Every Student Succeeds Act: ESEA Reauthorization 2015 was a very busy year for education but one of the biggest stories was the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Act. This new authorization revamps the No Child Left Behind Act that was passed in 2001. On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed the new act into law. While there are … Read More

The American Tradition of Reading with Our Children

Reading with our children is as American as apple pie. This has been the bedrock strength of this country and we can’t afford to lose it. Children model their parents and it’s up to parents and teachers to show children the beauty and power of reading. If you can read, you can do almost anything because you can imagine almost … Read More

Title I News 2015

Title I News 2015 Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is the largest federal assistance program in our nation’s schools providing over $14 billion to schools with high percentages of children living in poverty. Funds are distributed through state departments of education according to the number of students living in poverty in school districts. Schools with … Read More