Teaching English Language Learners: How Your State Is Doing : NPR Ed : NPR

Teaching English Language Learners: How Your State Is Doing : NPR Ed : NPR:

5 Million English Language Learners: A Vast Pool Of Talent, At Risk

About 1 out of every 10 public school students in the United States right now is learning to speak English. They're called ELLs, for "English Language Learners."

There are nearly 5 million of them, and educating them — in English and all the other subjects and skills they'll need — is one of the biggest challenges in U.S. public education today.

As part of our reporting project, 5 Million Voices, we set out to gather up all the data and information we could find about who these students are and how they're being taught. Here's our snapshot:

The vast majority — some 3.8 million ELL students — speak Spanish. But there are lots of other languages too, including Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Arabic and Vietnamese.

Most ELLs were born in the United States, and are U.S. citizens.

The state with the most ELL students is California — which has 29 percent of all ELLs nationwide. Texas has 18 percent, followed by Florida with 5 percent and New York with 4 percent.Teaching English Language Learners: How Your State Is Doing : NPR Ed : NPR:

Tougher tenure results in loss of 1,700 teachers, report says | NOLA.com

Tougher tenure results in loss of 1,700 teachers, report says | NOLA.com:

Tougher tenure results in loss of 1,700 teachers, report says

A new report says as many as 1,700 public school teachers in Louisiana have left classrooms because of the state's tougher tenure law.

The Advocate says the report issued Wednesday (Feb. 22) by Tulane University says many of those leaving the classroom were educators nearing retirement and teachers working in troubled schools.

The review says at least 3 percent of the state's teacher workforce has left since the law took effect two years ago.

The study was done by the Tulane-based Education Research Alliance for New Orleans. The group's board includes officials of the state's two teacher unions, charter school advocates and others.

The law made it tougher for new teachers to earn tenure. It also tied job protections to annual ratings based mainly on student achievement.

Copyright 2017, The Associated Press.Tougher tenure results in loss of 1,700 teachers, report says | NOLA.com: