Immigrants

Education news, analysis, and opinion about immigrants, immigrants’ children and immigration
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College & Workforce Readiness Explainer Students With Undocumented Parents Have Hit a FAFSA Road Block. Here Are 3 Options
A FAFSA expert provides advice for a particularly vulnerable group of families.
Elizabeth Heubeck, March 5, 2024
4 min read
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English-Language Learners Opinion How to Connect With English-Language Newcomers. Teachers Share Their Favorite Lessons
Stock classrooms with books that reflect students’ lives, languages, and cultures and invite them into as yet unfamiliar worlds.
Larry Ferlazzo, February 6, 2024
10 min read
Eric Parker teaches a class NW Classen High that has immigrant students and he has a flag representing each, which is a way to make them feel welcome, Tuesday, September 10, 2019.
Eric Parker teaches a class NW Classen High that has immigrant students and he has a flag representing each, which is a way to make them feel welcome, Tuesday, September 10, 2019. In a study published in the Review of Economic Studies last year, researchers analyzed population-level school records and birth records from Florida to measure the impact of immigrant students on U.S.-born peers’ academic outcomes.
Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman via AP
English-Language Learners Do Immigrant Students Help the Academic Outcomes of U.S.-Born Peers? One Study Says Yes
Schools and districts across the country have recently been reporting larger numbers of immigrant student enrollment, researchers say.
Ileana Najarro, January 31, 2024
5 min read
Students Anthony Gonzalez, middle, and Kritza Ardon Blanco, right, listen to teacher Kristine Jones, left, in the library at Valencia Newcomer School on Oct. 17, 2019, in Phoenix. Children from around the world are learning the English skills and American classroom customs they need to succeed at so-called newcomer schools. Valencia Newcomer School in Phoenix is among a handful of such public schools in the United States dedicated exclusively to helping some of the thousands of children who arrive in the country annually.
Students Anthony Gonzalez, middle, and Kritza Ardon Blanco, right, listen to teacher Kristine Jones, left, in the library at Valencia Newcomer School on Oct. 17, 2019, in Phoenix. Valencia Newcomer School in Phoenix is among a handful of public schools in the United States dedicated exclusively to helping some of the thousands of children who arrive in the country annually.
Ross D. Franklin/AP
English-Language Learners State Officials Share Advice on Supporting New Immigrant Students
Less than half of all states offer resources on how to enroll and support students new to the United States.
Ileana Najarro, November 30, 2023
5 min read
English Language Learning Program coordinator Dina Saunders, collects worksheets while helping in Katie Pringnitz's 6th grade Language Arts classroom on Aug. 24, 2016 at Mount Pleasant Middle School in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The Mount Pleasant school district has Spanish, Vietnamese, Lao, Chinese, English and Indigenous languages from Central America and Vietnam speaking students.
English-language learning program Coordinator Dina Saunders collects worksheets while helping in Katie Pringnitz's 6th grade language arts classroom on Aug. 24, 2016 at Mount Pleasant Middle School in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
John Lovretta/The Hawk Eye via AP
English-Language Learners How Schools Should Support Newcomers to the U.S.: A Case Study
The number of students enrolling into high school from other countries in Massachusetts has tripled in the last 15 years.
Ileana Najarro, November 29, 2023
5 min read
English learner students in Jeremy True's class work on a reading assignment on Nov. 10, 2022, in Mason City, Iowa.
English learner students in Jeremy True's class work on a reading assignment on Nov. 10, 2022, in Mason City, Iowa.
Abby Koch/Globe-Gazette via AP
English-Language Learners Most States Don't Offer Districts Guidance for Enrolling Students New to the U.S.
A new report found that less than half of all states recommend districts review newcomers' past education history at enrollment.
Ileana Najarro, October 30, 2023
4 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
English-Language Learners Letter to the Editor Celebrate Bilingualism and Multicultural Identities at School
Students should be encouraged to maintain their native languages, writes an educator.
August 22, 2023
1 min read
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F. Sheehan for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Why Pronouncing Student Names Correctly Matters, and How to Get Them Right
Many students routinely have their names mispronounced, making school more stressful and less welcoming.
Lydia McFarlane, July 13, 2023
6 min read
A Muslim girl and a Black boy are sitting beside each other in a tech classroom as they work with their own tablet computers.
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English-Language Learners Feds to Schools: Immigrant Students Entitled to Free Public Education, Regardless of Status
The U.S Departments of Justice and Education outline the obligations schools have to immigrant students.
Ileana Najarro, June 22, 2023
3 min read
Russellville High School ESL teacher Edmund Martinez works with students in Russellville, Ala., on December 9, 2022.
El maestro de ESL de Russellville High School, Edmund Martinez, trabaja con estudiantes en Russellville, Alabama, el 9 de diciembre de 2022.
Tamika Moore for Education Week
English-Language Learners Project El Lenguaje de la Equidad
Un distrito ha revisado cómo apoya a estudiantes de inglés, logrando grandes avances en los primeros grados que tal vez no pueda sostener.
June 2, 2023
Students ride the bus home from Russellville Middle School in Russellville, Alabama, on Dec. 9, 2022.
Los estudiantes toman el autobús a casa desde la escuela secundaria Russellville en Russellville, Alabama, el 9 de diciembre de 2022.
Tamika Moore for Education Week
English-Language Learners Project Este Distrito Está Teniendo Éxito con Estudiantes de Inglés. ¿Puede Mantener su Impulso?
Logros del sistema escolar de Alabama se ven amenazados por financiación limitada, necesidades no atendidas y política estatal moribunda.
Ileana Najarro, June 2, 2023
14 min read
Second grade students in Dalia Gerardo's class at West Elementary, in Russellville, Ala., on Dec. 9, 2022.
El salón de clases de segundo grado de Dalia Gerardo en West Elementary en Russellville, Alabama, se muestra aquí en diciembre de 2022. El salón de clases presenta etiquetas y decoraciones de pared en inglés y español.
Tamika Moore for Education Week
English-Language Learners Project Un Pueblo de Alabama Ahora Ve en los Estudiantes de Inglés Su Futuro
¿Qué ocurrió cuando un distrito escolar cambió su cultura e invirtió en ayudas para los jóvenes estudiantes de inglés?
Ileana Najarro, June 2, 2023
15 min read
The Russellville City School District has worked to meet the needs of an influx of Hispanic students over the last few years through a number of methods, including hiring nearly a dozen new bilingual aides. Elizabeth Alonzo, pictured here before a class at West Elementary in Russellville, Ala., on Dec. 9, 2022, is one of the bilingual aides.
Para satisfacer las necesidades de una creciente población de estudiantes de inglés, las escuelas de la ciudad de Russellville han contratado a 10 nuevos asistentes bilingües, incluida Elizabeth Alonzo, fotografiada aquí antes de una clase en West Elementary el 9 de diciembre de 2022.
Tamika Moore for Education Week
English-Language Learners In Their Own Words Una Auxiliar Bilingüe Explica el Valor de la Representación de los Estudiantes de Inglés
Elizabeth Alonzo proporciona ahora el apoyo que no recibió en la escuela: alguien que habla y valora su primera lengua.
Ileana Najarro, June 2, 2023
4 min read
Marlena Young-Jones, an ESL teacher at West Elementary in Russellville, Ala., works with students on Dec. 9, 2022. The Russellville City School District has worked to meet the needs of an influx of Hispanic students over the last few years through a number of methods, including hiring nearly a dozen new bilingual aides.
Marlena Young-Jones, en esta foto de diciembre de 2022, es profesora de ESL en la escuela primaria West Elementary y graduada del sistema escolar de Russellville. La inversión del distrito en desarrollo profesional y apoyo para los estudiantes de inglés envía una fuerte señal sobre su importancia, dice ella.
Tamika Moore for Education Week
English-Language Learners In Their Own Words ¿Cuál es la Mentalidad Adecuada para Enseñar a Estudiantes de Inglés? Una Maestra Explica
Profesores necesitan las disposiciones adecuadas para ayudar a los estudiantes de inglés, pero no son quienes determinan las condiciones.
Ileana Najarro, June 2, 2023
4 min read