Two Letters to the Editor were published in The Boston Globe in support of the March 31 Globe editorial on the LOOK Bill:
Boston’s failings highlight flaws in state’s English immersion law, by Patrick Proctor and Mariela Páez, Lynch School of Education at Boston College.
A Boston Globe editorial endorses the LOOK Bill filed by Rep. Sánchez and Sen. DiDomenico:
… the solution may lie beyond the Boston school system — more specifically, on Beacon Hill. Massachusetts’ school districts have been restricted in the way they teach English learners since 2002, when a ballot question crippled bilingual education. Districts were required to use “Sheltered English Immersion,” a method that focuses on teaching academic content in English, limiting the help students can receive in their native language…
… Sánchez’s bill represents the best opportunity to offer better instruction for students learning English — and a chance at a better educational future.
A new report from Education Commission of the States on State Level English Language Learner Policies examines issues of finance, identification of ELLs, educator quality, and more.
In the section on recognizing the implications of different ELL program approaches, the report states:
State leaders should recognize that different programs will be effective in different contexts. For example, rural school districts with few ELLs and urban districts with high concentrations of ELLs will need different program approaches. Likewise, long-term ELLs, students exiting ELL programs in the early grades and ELLs with interrupted education, for example, all need different kinds of supports and services.
From Education Commission of the States: State Level English Language Learner Policies
“Bilingualism is often seen as “good” when it’s rich English speakers adding a language as a hobby or another international language, but “bad” when it involves poor, minority, or indigenous groups adding English to their first language, even when the same two languages are involved.”
The US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights has released new guidance on the civil rights of ELLs and the rights of LEP parents. The resource page includes fact sheets for parents and students in multiple languages, as well as resources for schools and administrators.
Language Opportunity 