What Educators Say English Learners Need Most

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Other than increased funding or staffing, what’s one strategy that would help a district or school better serve English learners?

A March EdWeek Research Center survey, which included more than 1,100 educators across the country, asked this open-ended question to capture on-the-ground perspectives.

While it’s hard to capture a precise national snapshot of English learner education, the survey explored key issues such as the instructional models schools use for these students, educators’ opinions of their capabilities to serve this population, and more.

In hundreds of open-ended responses, educators working with English learners spoke of the need for more training on subjects including language instruction and cultural identities and the need for improvement in family engagement with multilingual families.

Read on for educators’ takes on what strategies could help better serve English learners.

Educators call for more training for all educators

Research has found over the years that there need to be a greater emphasis on and support for professional learning for general education teachers who work with English learners, said Rebecca Bergey, a principal researcher at the American Institutes for Research.

Survey respondents echoed this sentiment in their responses.

We need more professional development that will help mainstream teachers know how to access resources and strategies that will help our multi-language learners find success in class, as well as treat them as ADVANCED LEARNERS.

Strong training and professional development that speaks to how students, humans acquire language. Too often the blanket strategies that teachers are using, or lack of using any strategy does not cater to helping students acquire language.

Training for district-level admin and school board members in rural areas who have not traditionally had a lot of immigrants would be really helpful. Cluelessness is not helpful for our students.

Schools should also provide more support for families by offering training on how to use school platforms and ensuring that communication and homework are available in families’ home languages. In addition, students should be encouraged to parallel their home language with English so they can continue developing both languages. Supporting bilingualism helps students maintain their cultural identity while also strengthening their English- language development.

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While English learners benefit from language development support from bilingual education or English-as-a-second-language teachers, survey data found these students spend most of the school day in classrooms with gen ed teachers who aren’t always equipped to teach language through academic content.

Targeted training that can fill this teacher-preparation gap includes federal grant programs like the National Professional Development program, which focuses on both improving teacher-prep programs at colleges and universities to equip future teachers to serve English learners, and on improving the skills of working gen ed teachers, Bergey said. The NPD program, however, like other federal grant programs, saw cuts recently and an administrative reorganization that complicates these training efforts.

Family engagement remains a critical gap

Research shows that strong family and community engagement can translate to academic success for students.

That goes for English learners as well. Survey respondents spoke of the need for training and implementation of better family and community engagement with multilingual families.

Provide school staff and families access to professional translators/interpreters to facilitate equal to their English- speaking peers level of communication on all levels.

More communication in a student's first language, especially at the beginning of the year or when a new student enrolls. We also need to realize that not all families have access to WiI-Fi or have devices at home that they can use for schoolwork. We could use more computers to lend families and access to free WiFi for school-aged children.

Community outreach is the foundation of student achievement. A proactive outreach strategy is vital to engage families by asking them what barriers their children face and co-creating solutions. True outreach listens more than it speaks. For many families—especially those new to the district or the country—the American school system can be an intimidating 'black box' of acronyms and unspoken rules.

Every neighborhood has cultural wealth. Outreach allows us to discover that a certain Auntie is a master storyteller or a local business owner is a retired engineer. Many of our students live in apartments and neighborhoods distanced from the school site, secluded because of the lack of public transportation directly to the school. By showing up at local community centers, parks, or apartment complexes for "Pop-up Literacy Nights" and "Cafecitos" with school leaders, we bridge that gap.

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Experts also remind schools and districts of multilingual families’ right to translation services, even as they grow concerned about any lapses in such services following President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring English the official language.

Shifting mindsets is key to long-term improvement

Researchers and educators have historically had to grapple with deficit mindsets about English learners in which gen ed teachers, in particular, see these students’ lack of English proficiency as a detriment to their learning.

Teacher training can help shift mindsets, Bergey said, by better preparing teachers to work with English learners under the framing that all students can succeed academically and that all teachers can succeed in teaching language.

Survey respondents shared the importance of changing hearts and minds to view multilingualism as an asset.

In the rural South, the culture is to be suspicious of people perceived as outsiders or different, so it would first take a profound cultural shift in order to make the district where I teach ESOL serve, value, and support our ELs and their families.

I believe just being better informed on how developing a second language is a benefit rather than a deficit. This would be helpful across the board: Families, teachers, teacher-leaders, principals, district leadership, etc.

It’s not just the job of the ESL teacher to help the ESL students learn English, it’s the job of ALL teachers. I teach at the high school level and the thought process is that the only people responsible in the building are the ESL teachers, which is ridiculous. There needs to be a shift in thinking.

Providing adequate training on integrating ELD standards into the regular classroom, and opportunities to adequately train mainstream and ESL teachers who are interested in co-teaching. Research indicates that co-teaching, when done with fidelity, can be an extremely effective strategy.

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Mindset shifts are also critical to achieve a sense of shared responsibility, which Bergey describes as the practice of all teachers being responsible for teaching language and academic content.

Districts need to address immigrant students’ safety and well-being

Since the Trump administration rescinded a federal policy in January 2025, which protected schools from immigration enforcement activity, school administrators have had to grapple with a variety of challenges linked to the increased presence and activity of immigration agents at and near schools.

Schools have reported everything from increased anxiety and absences to dips in enrollment as a result.

While most English learners are U.S.-born citizens, they often come from immigrant households, and some are immigrants themselves. Survey respondents spoke of the need for schools and federal agencies to address these students’ needs and safety.

Re-establish schools as 'sensitive areas' to limit immigration enforcement actions.

Providing more support for [students with limited or interrupted formal education] and those with gaps in learning or learning differences from American standards (it's hard to graduate from high school when a student has never even learned multiplication, for example, in their home country).

It would also be helpful for districts to create a plan for how to respond to federal immigration agents should they be encountered outside the physical building, which is a very common situation. The limited one-page flyer we have now has minimal information on how to keep agents out of a building. This means teachers (not building admin or district leaders) are organizing in secret in order to set up safety plans and resource nets.

Intentionally take steps to build trust and psychological safety for immigrant students and their families: (a) when possible, provide information about rights, (b) emphasize that the school and classroom is where the student belongs as a cherished member with valuable cultural experiences, (c) strengthen school-&-family ties through multicultural activities, bilingual communication, and good ole' fashioned treating people with kindness and respect, (d) train teachers to recognize stress due to immigration fears so that they can respond with empathy rather than discipline.

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School leaders have also spoken in the past about the importance of making immigrant families feel welcome year-round for the academic success and well-being of students.

Ileana Najarro

Staff Writer, Education Week

Ileana Najarro is a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in schools across the country.