Bilingual Educators

Read more about the need for and experiences of teachers who speak both English and another language
Spanish teacher Titi Martin-Borregon teaches fourth grade Spanish/English dual language class students at the New Mexico International School in Albuquerque, N.M., on May 23, 2022.
Spanish teacher Titi Martin-Borregon teaches 4th grade Spanish/English dual language class students at the New Mexico International School in Albuquerque, N.M., on May 23, 2022.
Cedar Attanasio/AP
English-Language Learners Recruiting More Bilingual Teachers: The Challenges and Solutions
A new report highlights why more bilingual teachers are needed and how to build such a pipeline.
Ileana Najarro, September 19, 2023
5 min read
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Chris Ferenzi for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention How to Recruit and Retain Bilingual Teachers and Men of Color
Mentoring and building personal relationships can be powerful tools for recruiting and retaining educators of color and bilingual teachers.
Alyson Klein, May 26, 2023
2 min read
Teacher Preparation The Invisible Burden Some Bilingual Teachers Face
The extra work that many dual-language bilingual educators take on "too often goes unrecognized and is never remunerated," a new small-scale study concludes.
Corey Mitchell, February 7, 2020
3 min read
Ahmed Hassan, left, a bilingual communication support specialist at Talahi Elementary School in St. Cloud, Minn., mediates a conflict between Adnan Ahmed, 10, center, and Zeyle Mohamed, 10. Hassan provides linguistic and cultural support to school staff members and Somali families.
Ahmed Hassan, left, a bilingual communication support specialist at Talahi Elementary School in St. Cloud, Minn., mediates a conflict between Adnan Ahmed, 10, center, and Zeyle Mohamed, 10. Hassan provides linguistic and cultural support to school staff members and Somali families.
Swikar Patel/Education Week
Teaching Profession Bilingual Teachers Are in Short Supply. How Can Schools Cultivate Their Own?
A Washington-based think tank has released a guide to help school districts and states identify, develop, and hire bilingual educators in their own communities.
Corey Mitchell, March 19, 2019
2 min read
Federal ELL Teachers Are in Short Supply. Some Lawmakers Want to Fix That
Democrats in Congress are pushing legislation to help increase the skills and knowledge of teachers who work with English-learners, including how to identify and teach ELLs with disabilities and how to promote family and community engagement.
Corey Mitchell, September 21, 2018
2 min read
Federal Few Aspiring Teachers Aim to Work With English-Learners, Report Finds
School districts have struggled for years to find qualified bilingual and ELL-trained teachers, especially in immigrant-rich communities. New data shows the problem may not be going away anytime soon.
Corey Mitchell, August 10, 2018
2 min read
Recruitment & Retention Opinion Solving the Bilingual Teacher Shortage
An alternative licensure program for bilingual teachers helps tackle the bilingual teacher shortage.
Urban Education Contributor, July 26, 2018
4 min read
Recruitment & Retention Opinion How a Bilingual Educator Pipeline Gets Built
To address a shortage of bilingual teachers, one district-university partnership collaborates to create a bilingual teacher pipeline.
Urban Education Contributor, July 23, 2018
4 min read
Teacher Preparation The National Shortage of ELL Teachers Has Caught the Eye of Congress
Legislation proposed by congressional Democrats would create a grant program intended to help colleges of education and school districts partner on creating curricula for aspiring ELL teachers.
Corey Mitchell, January 25, 2018
2 min read
Federal Schools Are Falling Short for Many English-Learners
In a National Academies report on the state of education for ELLs, one theme is consistent: public schools need more resources and research.
Corey Mitchell, March 7, 2017
6 min read
Equity & Diversity Bilingual School Staff Who Want to Teach Face Bureaucratic, Financial Barriers
With the demand for bilingual educators on the rise, a new report explores the kinds of hurdles that make it difficult for multilingual classroom aides to make the transition to becoming teachers.
Corey Mitchell, January 24, 2017
2 min read
Equity & Diversity Policy Changes Could Solve the Nation's Bilingual Teacher Shortage, Group Argues
Unnecessary hurdles keep multilingual school aides from becoming fully-licensed teachers in classrooms where they're sorely needed to educate an ever-expanding English-language learner population.
Corey Mitchell, June 2, 2016
2 min read
Amaya Rodriguez-Lema, of Bilbao, Spain, conducts a reading lesson with 2nd grade students at William Lipscomb Elementary School in Dallas. Rodriguez-Lema is one 150 teachers from Spain currently working in the district.
Amaya Rodriguez-Lema, of Bilbao, Spain, conducts a reading lesson with 2nd grade students at William Lipscomb Elementary School in Dallas. Rodriguez-Lema is one 150 teachers from Spain currently working in the district.
Brandon Thibodeaux for Education Week
Every Student Succeeds Act Need for Bilingual Educators Moves School Recruitment Abroad
For big-city districts, Puerto Rico and Spain have becoming recruiting hot spots amid a shortage of teachers for dual-immersion and English-as-a-second-language programs.
Corey Mitchell, January 25, 2016
6 min read
Equity & Diversity Losing Bilingual Support Staff Can Affect ELL Students, Parents
Layoffs of bilingual secretaries in several Detroit schools come at a time when the U.S. Department of Education and other organizations have called for districts to redouble their efforts to connect with English-language learner parents.
Corey Mitchell, December 10, 2015
3 min read