In the spring of 2021, the Community College System in which the author works was in the middle of a planned three-year pilot of math and English self-placement ("Direct Enrollment") procedures. Concerns about the significant English language learner (ELL) population at one institution led to the development of a corequisite support…

California public schools enroll some 1.2 million students who are classified as English learners (ELs), representing a little more than 19 percent of the statewide student population. Given the size of this population and given the state's efforts over the last decade to recommend to districts materials lists for high-quality, standards-aligned…

Canada prides itself for being multi-cultural, valuing diversity, and having educational outcomes that have been identified as excellent and equitable with above average performance and lower than average impact of socio-economic status and immigrant status in PISA. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, plus policies concerning child care,…

This paper explores my experiences as a Latina/Chicana educator from the borderlands of South Texas and acknowledges my innermost battle with identity through my own "testimonio." The purpose is to re-examine administrator and teacher language ideologies and the detrimental effect on curriculum development for all students learning in…

With approximately 40 million foreign-born people in the United States, US classrooms are witnessing an intense concentration of newcomer students and a persistent achievement gap between immigrant students and their English-speaking, US-born peers. Yet, some teachers are consistently successful with "those" children typically…

This chapter examines school leadership in the United States as it relates to the changing context for public education. In the midst of demographic shifts that have led to growing diversity across the country, public schools serve as key points of contact for immigrant youth and their families. At the same time, an expanding accountability system…

The current focus across the U.S. on student college and career readiness standards makes clear that both instruction and assessment of academic English will continue to be important for school-age English learner (EL) students. This article presents an overview and summary of key literature on academic language (usually academic English);…

Public education is at a crossroads. Moving in new directions is imperative. Just tweaking and tinkering with old ideas is a recipe for disaster. Continuing challenges confronting public education highlight why moving school improvement policy and practice in new directions is imperative. With a view to enhancing graduation rates and successful…

As district leaders search for the best ways to improve student learning with the Common Core State Standards, California districts are leading the way as early implementers of the new standards. The ideas and lessons emerging from their work can help other educators maximize the effectiveness of their own implementation efforts. This brief…

This year is designated as Thailand's "English Speaking Year" with the aim of improving the communicative competence of Thais for the upcoming integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015. The consistent low-level proficiency of the Thais in the English language has led to numerous curriculum revisions and…

The purposes of this paper are to explain the development processes of an intensive summer program for English language learners and to discuss course improvement strategies based on the evaluation outcomes. This 60-hr partnership program between local schools and a university was developed to improve the language proficiency of increasing numbers…

An increasing number of students entering California's schools come from non-English speaking backgrounds. Although some of these language minority students enter school already proficient in English, the majority do not. These students are now referred to as English learners. There are several reasons why Californians need to pay careful…