5 Strategies for Increasing Engagement with ELL Families

As educators around the country know, the percentage of English language learners (ELLs) in U.S. schools is growing at a brisk clip. Recent figures show that ELLs make up close to 10 percent of the total student population — 4.6 million students by some estimates. With schools adding as many as 100,000 new English language learners each year, educators need to get strategic not only about the way they teach students, but about how they communicate to families as well. Parental involvement is one of the key drivers of student success, and research has shown that income level and ethnic background do not, by themselves, impact levels of family engagement.