Current data shows that families are increasingly reading to their children. In 1993, household surveys conducted by the United States Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics, showed that approximately 78 percent of children ages 3-5 were read to by a family member at least 3 times a week. The most recent data in 2012 shows that the figures … Read More
California Adopts New Curriculum Framework for English Learners
The California State Department of Education has adopted a new curriculum framework for English Learners in California, where one quarter of its students are English Learners. California is the first state to combine English language arts and English language development into a curriculum. This video, featured in the Common Core Channel, provides an overview of the English Language Arts/English Language … Read More
What is the Day of the Dead?
The Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in central and southern Mexico and other Latin American countries during November 1st and November 2nd. It coincides with All Soul’s & All Saint’s Day which are more catholic holidays, but the indigenous people have combined this with their own ancient beliefs of honoring their deceased loved ones. The core idea … Read More
Spanish Leads Among United States’ English Language Learners
Spanish leads the nation as the top language spoken at home by United States’ English Language Learners. In a fact sheet recently published by the Migration Policy Institute outlining the top languages spoken by United States’ English Language Learners, 71% of ELLs speak Spanish at home followed by Chinese at 4%. The fact sheet further notes that Spanish predominates … Read More
Improving vocabulary for school by reading and talking as a family
Improving vocabulary for school by reading and talking together as a family might be understood by many middle class parents, but it’s not so obvious to low income families, who may not have a middle class understanding of parenting, language development, and academic success. In the United States, we have a fast growing demographic of English Learners. The majority of … Read More
Family Engagement with Hispanic Parents
Family Engagement with Hispanic Parents We review research on parent involvement on an ongoing basis. In reviewing the research, major educational studies, and overviews of the evidence, it is clear that parent involvement works and is a powerful determinant in whether or not a child succeeds in school. The overwhelming research also concludes that the collaboration between parents and schools … Read More
Teacher workshops for working with English learners
Lectura Books offers award-winning books and parent programs and provides teacher workshops for working with English learners. Parents are an important piece of the puzzle in our education system but many schools still struggle with how to work with parents, and especially with Spanish-speaking parents. Working with parents can be particularly rewarding when you fully understand the challenges, interests, and … Read More
New Jersey Focus on Parent Engagement for English Learners
New Jersey Focus on Parent Engagement for English Learners “Research indicates a strong association between parent involvement with a child’s education both at home and at school and student performance in school. Engaging parents is particularly important for English learners and students from low‐income families. In fact, greater parent involvement is correlated with higher student test scores and better grades … Read More
Avoiding the Obstacles to Parent Involvement
Avoiding the Obstacles to Parent Involvement – Helpful Resources When it comes to providing a good Parent Involvement program at your school, you may be faced with many obstacles. To start with, which languages are spoken at your school by the parents of the children who attend your school? There may be many languages, so where do you start? Here … Read More
Illinois Has Surge in Spanish Speaking English Learners
Illinois Has Surge in Spanish Speaking English Learners Over the past few years, Illinois has experienced a surge in the number of English Learners enrolled in public schools. In an analysis of Illinois’ Latino Demographic by Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro, a PhD Research and Policy Analyst for the Latino Policy Forum, the state has experienced a 25% increase of English Language Learners from 2004 … Read More