The Spanish-language television network Univision has been broadcasting a series of reports and interviews on the common standards called Ya Viene: Elevando Los Estándares Educativos, a special program produced to educate parents on what the new academic demands are going to be for most students in most states.
This past weekend, Aída Walqui, an expert on English-language learners who is the director of teacher professional-development programs for WestEd, was the guest. She had nearly an hour on the program to explain why she thinks the standards present an important opportunity for improving educational outcomes for Latino students and for students who are English-language learners. I interviewed Ms. Walqui for my story earlier this year on what the common standards will require of teachers of ELLs and ELLs themselves.
It’s a remarkable series. How often do we ever see in-depth coverage of education-related issues in mainstream media, especially on television? It’s rare. And for a major outlet like Univision to devote the time and depth to the topic is really admirable.
There is much more to the series than last weekend’s piece. Check it all out here. Of course, it’s in Spanish.