Urgent action necessary to support English Language Learners

The New York State Educational Conference Board (ECB) — comprised of the seven leading educational organizations representing school boards, parents, superintendents, teachers, school administrators (SAANYS), business officials and other educators — believes that it is crucial to ensure successful educational outcomes for vulnerable student populations, including English Language Learner (ELL) students.

On average, three of every four U.S. schools currently educate students for whom English is not their first language; this includes students who are unaccompanied minors and other recent arrivals to the United States. Based on recent New York State Education Department (NYSED) data, the total number of ELL students exceeds 213,000 for the 2015-16 school year.

While some small gains were made by ELLs on the most recent state assessments, ELL academic achievement is still well below that of non-ELL pupils.

Read full report here and watch for the next issue of SAANYS’ Vanguard magazine, which will focus on supporting ELL students.