The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Culturally Sustaining Instruction." Contents include: (1) The Innovation of…

This article is a response to claims made by proponents of "science of reading" and "structured literacy" reading instruction approaches, in regard to their effectiveness with emergent bilingual students. The author argues that the strong knowledge base generated from studies examining the dynamic literacy practices of emergent…

The purpose of this article is to describe a family literacy project involving a partnership of school-aged children and their families with in-service and pre-service teachers enrolled in a university course on literacy instruction for English language learners. This project consists of family members sharing their stories with their children to…

While partnerships including meaningful, two-way, parent-teacher dialogue about young children during early childhood program and school meetings are critical, linguistic differences between bilingual parents who are immigrants and early educators can impede communication and lead to inequitable services. In this article, we focus on one aspect of…

The DEC Recommended Practices provide guidance to families and professionals about the most effective ways to improve learning outcomes and promote development of young children, birth through age 5, who have, or are at-risk for, developmental delays or disabilities. "Assessment: Recommended Practices for Young Children and Families" is…

This article presents an overview of family learning at the Children's Museum of Houston. Based on educational theory, and designed to support learning literacy and success in school, Museum programs provide parents with tools to help them nurture children's intellectual development. The goal of this work is for parents to become better prepared…

This book is a guide for parents who wish to raise children with more than one language and literacy. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, as well as the experiences of parents of multilingual children, this book walks parents through the multilingual reading and writing process from infancy to adolescence. It identifies essential literacy…

Playful, engaging talk with young children is much more than a social activity: it's the foundation of language, intellectual, and social-emotional development, and it's also the key to narrowing the achievement gap between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Now there's a practical, easy-to-read guidebook that shows professionals…

Children and youths use electronic technology such as the Internet more than any other medium through which to communicate and socialize. To understand the phenomenon of cyber abuse from children's and youths' perspectives, the authors examined anonymous posts made by children and youths to a free, 24-hour, national, bilingual phone and Web…

As more and more dual language learners enter the school system, now is the ideal time for this second edition of the bestselling textbook--essential for preparing speech language pathologists (SLPs) and educators to work with young children who are bilingual or learning a second language. This comprehensive, student-friendly text takes the…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Quality Teaching and includes: (1) Equity, Access and Excellence in Education for Immigrant Students (Abelardo Villarreal and Rosana…

Bilingual education, though acknowledged as having the potential to help overcome a wide variety of societal and cultural tensions, remains controversial and frequently misunderstood. The present study examines the extent to which socio-historical and political contexts, in conflict-ridden areas, influence language attitudes and the implementation…

What should parents of a child who stutters do if their child speaks more than one language? Research shows that a child's language skills can affect his or her fluency, according to the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation of America. However, it has not been proven that speaking two languages in the home since birth causes stuttering. If the child is…

Globalization is on everyone's tongue, and the discussion is not only limited to economic exchange, but expands to the intermingling of cultural values. To be truly successful in the international arena, whether as an immigrant, student, businessperson, or tourist, openness toward other cultures is vital and the most obvious door to those cultures…

This report documents the disparate and unfair treatment of Latino/a youth in the U.S. justice system, describing barriers to collection of comprehensive information and potential means for overcoming these barriers. Data came from surveys of juvenile justice system directors in several states and the District of Columbia. The report describes how…