ELL Unit Focuses on

Growing Population

English language learners make up an increasing proportion of the student population in the Northwest region: from more than 15 percent of the total enrollment in Alaska's schools to about 5 percent of Montana's students. By 2030, it's estimated that 40 percent of the nation's students will be ELLs. "The challenge before this country will be overwhelming," notes José Velázquez, a program advisor in the Comprehensive Center. "How do we share our different areas of expertise to meet the challenge?"

Velázquez and fellow members of the ELL unit—Frank Hernandez and Carlos Sundermann—are tackling the issue on a number of fronts, individually and in collaboration with other programs at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. One example is the ELL unit's work with NWREL's assessment program, which is developing tests to measure English language proficiency for the Oregon Department of Education. The tests, covering five different grade levels, will be piloted this spring and the ELL unit will train teachers in how to administer them (see next story).

The ELL unit will also provide training and technical assistance for a U.S. Department of Education initiative centering on migrant education students. The project, which gets underway this fall, is designed to determine the needs of these students, how to track them within the region, and how to foster better communication between school districts and agencies working with this population.

One important aspect of serving ELL students is increasing parental involvement.

Hernandez notes that means more than just "inviting" parents in; schools must also look at the obstacles parents face in fulfilling the invitation. "Empowering parents to be decisionmakers is critical," he points out. Also, the more schools incorporate culturally relevant curriculum, the more likely it is that parents will be a component of the educational process.

Hernandez observes that laws requiring special instruction for ELL students have been on the books in Oregon for at least 40 years, but they are receiving new attention now—and enforcement—because of No Child Left Behind. In a district like Portland Public Schools, where 92 languages are represented, this pre-sents unique challenges for everyone. "For too many years, ESL kids were seen as the ESL teacher's problem—her kids," says Velázquez. "But people are recognizing now they're everybody's children."

According to Sundermann, a main priority of the ELL unit is to develop a Web site that's a "user-friendly road map," prominently featuring Lab resources across centers and programs. The site, which will go live this fall, will also link to regional and national resources containing ELL research, assessment issues, and program models.