U.S. Department of Education Awards $20 Million to Support Educators of English Learner Students

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) announced today the awarding of $20 million in grants under the National Professional Development Program (NPD), to support educators of English learner students.

The NPD program provides grants to eligible institutions of higher education and public or private entities with relevant experience and capacity, in consortia with states or districts, to implement professional development activities that will improve instruction for English Learners (ELs). Professional development may include preservice or in-service activities for educators of ELs including teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals or other educators working with ELs. Professional development activities may include teacher education programs and training for other education professionals that lead to certification, licensing, or endorsement for providing instruction to English learners.

“Our English learner students represent an incredible asset for our country, yet they also face unique challenges. We need to keep shining the spotlight on them and building our capacity to better serve and teach them.” said OELA Assistant Deputy Secretary, José A.Viana. “With this funding, we continue to deliver on our promise of equity, excellence and opportunity in supporting educators, students and families across the country. They are counting on us to help them soar!”

The Department projects this new cohort of 42 grants will serve approximately 1,796 pre-service and 9,731 in-service teachers.

La Cosecha 2017

Regular Registration Deadline

September 25, 2017

Should English Teachers Explore Cultural Topics in Class?

If you are standing in front of an iceberg, it might look like the largest thing you’ve ever seen. But, you’re still only seeing the small part above the water. About 90 percent of the iceberg is below the water. The same idea relates to culture, explains Amy Melendez.

Manhattan teacher helps immigrant students excel in Advanced Placement English classes

None of the students at the Manhattan Academy for Arts and Language can speak English when they enter the school.

In fact, many start without any significant formal education or literacy skills.

But tireless English teacher Lauren McCoy has figured out how to meet the needs of all her students, and quickly build their literacy and language ability.

McCoy is now teaching one of the school’s first-ever Advanced Placement classes. She’s taking students who just learned English to the next level, where they’re writing strong rhetorical analysis essays and taking the AP exam.

Drawing on Ideas for Language Learners

For more than 40 years, education researchers have advocated the use of concept mapping as an effective approach to fostering higher-order thinking skills, moving students from mere knowledge acquisition to knowledge utilization and creation (Novak and Cañas, 2008). By specifying and linking concepts in a concept map, students and language learners create a visible structure of their understanding in a given domain that can be modified over time to assimilate new concepts and reflect new understanding.

In short, concept mapping can move learners toward more in-depth learning, i.e., more meaningful learning, by facilitating the process of linking new concepts with existing knowledge and experience. Concept mapping is an effective strategy for educators to use to support English language learners (ELLs) and prepare them for success in school and beyond.

The multiple benefits of learning two languages

Despite fear-based immigration rhetoric and policy proposals out of our nation’s Capitol, California is working to turn the page on phobia. When it comes to education policies impacting children in immigrant families – and any family where a language other than English is spoken at home – the California Legislature and voters have opted for science over fear.

The Educate & Elevate Campaign Toolkit

Collective storytelling and outcomes data make an impact on policy makers in helping them understand the value we bring to their priority agendas. To help you advocate for Adult Education as an investment in America’s future, we have assembled these campaign outreach tools. These tools should help you showcase your success stories, garner press coverage, and motivate stakeholders to support adult education by contacting their legislators.

What Constitutes Good Literacy Assessment?

Reading and writing are complex areas to assess. No single
assessment can include all aspects of these complex
processes. What’s more, there are multiple purposes
for literacy assessment, and no single assessment can
serve all purposes. Together, these facts make it clear that literacy
assessment is much more complicated than many realize.
In short, literacy assessment needs to reflect the multiple
dimensions of reading and writing and the various purposes
for assessment as well as the diversity of the students being
assessed.

In school funding trial, father says N.M. neglects English-language learners