With the number of emergent bilingual students (also known as English language learners) in classrooms increasing, it's key that teachers practice "linguistically sustaining practices" so students don't lose their native language as they learn English. Hill describes ways teachers and school leaders can support retaining native…

Educators can take specific steps to better connect with and support newcomer families. Long-time teacher of newcomer students and English language learners-and now a consultant and founder of Diversified, Louise El Yaafouri explains what educators and schools need to be aware of and ways they can sensitively connect the families of newcomer…

Educators should take care to make all students, especially immigrant students, feel safe and welcomed in their schools. Garibay outlines several ways that educators can build relationships with their immigrant students and their families, including home visits, informative community talks, providing know-your-rights information, and advocating…

When Abigail Akosua Kayser and her parents emigrated from Ghana to the United States, her family received a less-than-warm welcome at the high school she attended as a student. Kayser later became an educator with the goal of making her classroom a safe and welcoming place for immigrant students and their families. In this article, she shares her…

Parents know their children best. When schools build relationships with the families of English learners, students benefit. In this article, learn three essential actions from which you can cultivate an engaging and welcoming school community: (1) create a supportive learning environment, (2) make resources multilingual and multimodal, and (3)…

Why are IEP meetings often uncomfortable, awkward, and stiff? Educators and families all have a common goal--to support the growth of a child. Yet educators often feel confused that families act like reluctant participants who are just fulfilling a requirement. And families often feel that they're viewed as intruders, whose insights and dreams for…

Collaboration between students' families and the school is an essential component to promoting student mental and behavioral health. Many schools structure their mental health services using a Multi-Tiered System of Supports that offers three different tiers of support from universal supports to personalized help for students with serious…

Building partnerships with families can be a challenge, especially in ethnically diverse classrooms. In this article, the authors describe how to create such partnerships with three kinds of classroom events: community-building events that deepen social relationships and make families feel welcome; curriculum showcase events that give families a…

Families of struggling students, this teacher in a high-poverty school knows, feel defensive and hurt when communications with their child's school focus mainly on that child's deficits. This is especially true for families from poverty or immigrant backgrounds--and affirming the latter families is important in the current climate of hostility…

In the face of yet another crisis in teaching, it's time for a bold and comprehensive plan to revitalize and better support the profession. Education expert Linda Darling-Hammond explains how the current shortage of teachers is not entirely new, but the result of decades of cutting programs, lack of respect for the profession and poor working…

Karen L. Mapp--former Deputy Superintendent for Family and Community Engagement for Boston's schools and noted researcher and author on how schools can partner with families--talks with "EL" editor Naomi Thiers on the need to approach engaging family caregivers in students' learning in a new way, starting with emphasizing active…

Recalling her year as the "English-speaking unicorn" in a class of refugee and immigrant students representing a myriad of languages, the author tells how visiting students at their homes was the strategy that most helped her help students. From discovering that a betel-nut habit was causing one student's hyperactivity to seeing another…

With U.S. immigration policies tightening, many teachers find students from immigrant backgrounds are worried about families or friends facing harsh consequences--or are suffering from losing a family member to deportation. Some students and families are disengaging from school, and kids are even being bullied about their backgrounds. Kugler shows…

Most English language learners are from families that have recently immigrated to the United States-and many of those families traveled here at tremendous risk to seek better education for their children. It's important for classroom teachers to make building relationships with the families of ELLs a priority. Breiseth asserts that the most…

Drawing on her experiences as a school leader addressing groups of (sometimes skeptical) teachers, colleagues, and parents, Grove describes how she used storytelling to engage, inspire, and convince listeners. She gives examples of five things telling well-chosen anecdotes will help you do when communicating with educators and families: (1)…