Because English language learners (ELL) are among the fastest growing student populations in the country, improving the quality of programs serving them is essential to the state of Texas as well as to the country as a whole. Despite decades of experience in attempting to address the language proficiency and academic needs of English language…

Bilingual education teaches English to children and at the same time, they are taught core subjects like math and science. The facts show that bilingual education is a small investment that pays big dividends for the country in the form of a well educated work force. This article focuses on three areas: historical basis for Texas funding for its…

Bilingual education is meant to build a bridge that helps students become proficient in their native language and English. Many children do not make it over that bridge. Often, it is not discovered until they are in the second or third grade that the student does not have a proficiency in either language. When a third grade teacher finds students…

The ExCEL Project, sponsored by the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) is described. The program enlists teachers in directing their own professional learning and practice. [This document originally appeared in the "IDRA Newsletter", however some accompanying charts and graphs may not be provided here.]

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 Enlightened Public Policy and includes: (1) Texas Education Policy: Prospects for 2009 (Albert Cortez); (2) Bilingual Education in…

English language learners may bring linguistic knowledge in the area of cognates to their learning of new English words, but they also will have special vocabulary learning needs that English speakers will not. They need to learn basic, survival words that English speakers begin school knowing, words such as house, school, walk, and eat. They also…

Twenty secondary math and science teachers from a large urban school district in Texas were recently asked: Why don't English language learners succeed in school? Their answers included: students feel isolated because of language, students get mixed up with gangs, and students do not value education. This article compares student-attributed and…

Mounting accountability pressures from state and federal legislation are prompting schools to closely examine the performance of English language learners both in language acquisition and in core content areas. State education agencies closely monitor yearly student progress to ensure that English language learners are progressing and that there…