More than 36 languages are spoken at Emmett J. Conrad High School in Dallas, which has a large population of students who are from families granted refuge or asylum. While it’s common to have English learner (EL) students in today’s classrooms, educators say they are struggling now more than ever to fulfill the academic and social-emotional needs of this increasingly diverse student group.
Fall is just around the corner. That means students are beginning to funnel back into the classroom and teachers and administrators are once again spending their time assessing student learning needs and how to best support those who are struggling.
One of the most complicated and critical issues facing post-secondary district leaders today may be hiding in plain sight. Literacy rates among secondary students are staggering. Millions of high school students are struggling to read at grade level, and at least 70 percent of these struggling readers require some form of remediation to function successfully in their core content studies.
Nearly three out of four classrooms include at least one English Language Learner and this subgroup represents the fastest growing student population in the United States. One of the biggest challenges for these students and the schools and teachers that support them is that instruction needs to simultaneously build English language fluency AND subject-level mastery.
This is the fourth blog in a series where we will be exploring the topic of innovation and its impact on digital curriculum.
More than 36 languages are spoken at Emmett J. Conrad High School in Dallas, which has a large population of students who are from families granted refuge or asylum. While it’s common to have ELL students in today’s classrooms, educators say they are struggling now more than ever to fulfill the academic and social-emotional needs of this increasingly diverse student group.
The number of ELL (English Language Learner) students in U.S. schools is increasing at a rapid pace. In fact, ELL students represent the fastest-growing segment of the student population. In just 15 years, the number of ELL students in public schools has nearly doubled to approximately 5 million students.