Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Presented By:
Reyna P. Hernandez
Research and Policy Associate
Latino Policy Forum
rhernandez@latinopolicyforum.org
Why we need to learn about
ELLs specifically
• Meeting our charge of serving ALL
children requires specific knowledge of
the needs of ELLs
• Demographics make ELLs relevant to all
administrators statewide
• ELLs are a specifically identified
subgroup with various associated legal
obligations
ELLs require specific
knowledge
Appropriately addressing ELLs requires a breadth & depth of knowledge.
Professiona
Engagemen
Assessmen
Specialized
Curriculum
Knowledge
Classroom
Instruction
Education
Specialist
Initiatives
Services
Gifted &
Special
Magnet
Parent
l Dev.
New
ELL
t
t
• Issues pertaining to ELLs cut across all aspects of administration and
education including:
– Learning Objectives: Content Knowledge AND Language Development
– Curriculum & Instruction
– Assessment
– Teacher Preparation & Professional Development
– Parent Engagement
• Appropriately addressing ELLs within each area requires the deliberate
presence of specialized knowledge, including specific strategies and
methods for serving ELLs (possibly through ELL specialist representation on
project teams)
Who and Where are ELLs?
In SY 2009:
• Nearly 200,000 ELLs were served in 573
SDs throughout IL, with 2/3rds outside of
SD 299 (Chicago Public Schools)
• Of the 141 languages spoken by IL ELLs,
Spanish was the most spoken (80.5%),
followed by Polish, Arabic, Urdu, Tagalog,
Korean, Gujarati, Cantonese, Vietnamese,
& Russian.
ELLs receiving services are
relatively young
ELLs relative to total
population
About the Foreign-Born Pop.
According to the Census American Community Survey 2009:
About children Indicator Foreign- Native
with foreign- Born
born parents % of Total Population 13.5% 86.5%
•While 97% of
all children in IL Average Household Size 3.4 2.51
are U.S.-born Married Family Households 60.5% 46.5%
•Over a quarter
Less than HS diploma (≥ 25 years old) 30.6% 9.9%
(25.5%) have at
least 1 foreign- At least some college (≥ 25 years old) 45.1% 62.2%
born parent
•Including Births within 12 months 22.1% 77.9%
23.4% of U.S.
Citizen children Speak English “less than very well” 55.2% 1.8%
•In Chicago, Work in production/construction-type 32.3/17.3% 18.3/5%
over a third of occupations (all/female)
all children
Poverty rates for families w/ children 18.5% 14.9%
(36.6%) have at
least 1 FB No health insurance 32.6% 10.3%
parent. Median Family Income $55,793 $69,253
The Law of Educating ELLs
• Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA), Section 1703(f) a school district must provide services that will enable limited
English proficient students to “overcome barriers that impede equal participation by these students in the district’s instructional
programs” (see 20 USC 1703)
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act – Title III - 'English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic
Achievement Act'.
“Sec. 3102 (1) to help ensure that children who are limited English proficient, including immigrant children and youth, attain
English proficiency, develop high levels of academic attainment in English, and meet the same challenging State academic
content and student academic achievement standards as all children are expected to meet”