Ileana Najarro is a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in schools across the country. She previously wrote for the Tampa Bay Times and the Houston Chronicle.
<i>From left,</i> <i>Alicia Simba, a transitional kindergarten teacher; Eric Lewis, a science teacher; Vito Chiala, a principal; Chris Hoffman, a school superintendent; and moderator Diana Lambert of EdSource appear on a panel during the State of Teaching discussion in San Francisco on March 19, 2026. The administrators and classroom educators spoke of what it takes to boost teacher morale.</i>
English-learner teacher Olga Dietz, middle, talks with Glenda McKinney, another EL teacher, in between classes at Mt. View Elementary School in Antioch, Tenn., on Dec. 3, 2025. Across the country districts are increasingly in need of these teachers with specialized skills for helping students learning English as the national EL population continues to grow.
Pictures show what mouth shape different sounds make on the walls of Diana Oviedo-Holguin’s class at Heritage Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas, on Sept. 3, 2025. While educators feel relieved that federal dollars for supplemental English-learner resources will continue in the next fiscal year, they remain uncertain for the years to come.
Activists are approached by federal agents for following agent vehicles, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Minneapolis. Federal immigraiton enforcement disrupted learning in the Twin Cities in recent months. A new national poll of K-12 parents found most oppose immigration enforcement at or near schools.
An American flag hangs upside down at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington, May 31, 2024. The think tank has called on states to enact legislation that would limit undocumented students' access to free, public education.
Caps and gowns at the June 10, 2025, graduation at Francis T. Maloney High School in Meriden, Conn., bore stickers reading “WE STAND TOGETHER” and “ESTAMOS UNIDOS” after a graduating student and his father were detained by federal immigration officers days before the ceremony. A new analysis reveals both progress and a persistent gap, presenting an opportunity for schools to close the gap of undocumented students not graduating.
Valley View Elementary School Principal Jason Kuhlman delivers food donations to school families on Feb. 3, 2026, in Columbia Heights, Minn. School leaders in the Twin Cities have been trying to assuage the fears of over immigration enforcement.
A graduation cap and gown sit in an ESL teacher's classroom in Russellville, Ala. New research suggests some negative outcomes from grouping English learners together in high school, such as a lower likelihood of graduating on time.
High school students protest during a walkout in opposition to President Donald Trump's immigration policies on Jan. 20, 2026, in Los Angeles. A survey published in December shows how the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda is challenging educators’ ability to create stable learning environments.
A computer sits open Jan. 22, 2026, in Minneapolis for students learning virtually because they are too fearful to come to school. Districts nationwide weigh emergency virtual learning as immigration enforcement fuels fear and absenteeism.
Tracy Byrd helps students with essays on Jan. 22 at Washburn High School in Minneapolis. As immigration raids and protests have played out across the city, he and fellow educators have sought to create a stable environment for students.
A Somali flag, right, flies alongside the United States and Vermont flags outside the Winooski School District building, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Winooski, Vt. The district's effort to show support for Somali students drew intense backlash.
Protestors gather after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, on Jan. 7, 2026. The incident later prompted the Minneapolis school district to cancel classes amid broader federal immigration operations.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune via TNS
Demonstrators hold up signs protesting an immigration bill as it was discussed in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on April 10, 2025. The bill, which legislators paused, would have allowed schools in the state to require undocumented students to pay tuition. It was one of six efforts taken by states in 2025 to limit undocumented students' access to free, public education.
Children disembark from a school bus in a largely Hispanic neighborhood that has been the subject of patrols and detentions by Border Patrol agents, during a federal immigration crackdown in Kenner, La., on Dec. 10, 2025. This year, the EdWeek Research Center included questions related to immigration in national surveys.
Jennifer Hosler, center, a pastor and parent of a child who attends Mundo Verde Public Charter School, leads parents and staff in a chant of solidarity as they keep watch for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in front of the school, amid fears of impending arrests at schools on May 6, 2025. An EdWeek Research Center survey asked whether schools or districts have protocols in place regarding immigration enforcement.
Three sisters, whose single mother fears being mistakenly detained by federal immigration agents because she is of Puerto Rican descent and speaks Spanish, walk into Funston Elementary School after being dropped off for the start of the school day, in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood Oct. 15, 2025. Teachers in Chicago and elsewhere have expressed heightened anxiety from immigrant students as immigration enforcement efforts expand.