Connecting With Ell Families Reading Rockets

Multilingual families can be powerful partners on behalf of their children. Yet what these partnerships look like will be unique to each school setting and community — and may require some thinking outside of the box. This section includes some key tips and recommended resources from our sister site, Colorín Colorado. When you want to connect with the families of English language learners (ELLs), there are lots of strategies you can try. It may take some time to figure out what works, but those ideas will serve you now and in the future. Here are 10 ideas from our friends at Colorín Colorado to help you get started, as well as key questions to guide you.

An important first step is to learn more about your families. You can start by reaching out to staff who work closely with families, such as family liaisons, ESL or bilingual teachers, and paraprofessionals. You can also look for local community organizations that work with the families in your school. These groups often have important insights, resources, and ideas — and they may be able to provide volunteers and skilled interpreters. You can also talk with families directly; however, it is important not to overwhelm families with too many questions at once, especially if they are hesitant to share any personal information. For examples, many Indigenous families from Latin America are very cautious about sharing their Indigenous languages and cultures in school settings at first.

Go slowly; it may take time to build trust. On the other hand, you may find some families who are eager to share information and ready to help. Guide for Engaging ELL Families: 20 Strategies for School Leaders How can schools form strong partnerships with ELL and immigrant families? How can school leaders make that happen? The following tips provide some ideas for getting started!

These strategies appear in Engaging ELL Families: Twenty Strategies for School Leaders. The following strategies offer tips for building relationships with the families of English language learners (ELLs), getting to know their strengths and stories, and creating a welcoming environment. Learning about your ELL families provides an important foundation for everything else you do at the school. Even basic information about students' ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, or the situations from which they have come, can help you match students with the appropriate services and programs. Answer the following questions about your ELL families using a KWL chart: Starting a new school can be difficult—especially for newcomer immigrant and refugee students, whose families may not be familiar with the U.S.

education system. Starting School in the United States: A Guide for Newcomer Students' Families, a new resource from REL Northwest, provides answers to many questions newcomer families typically have about the U.S. school system. Specifically, the guide (which is available in four languages) offers research-based guidance on the registration process, how families can get involved in their children's education, the rights every student has under U.S. law, and more. We encourage schools, districts, and refugee agencies to provide a link to the guide on their website and print copies for newcomer families.

Presented at 41st ANNUAL NYS ASSOCIATION OF BILINGUAL EDUCATORS CONFERENCE - March 15-17, 2018 This presentation will help parents learn about the educational system in New York State (NYS), particularly in high schools. Parents will learn about High School organizations, expectations for High School students, and High School graduation requirements. A bilingual website for families and educators of English Language Learners which is a project in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). It includes information about teaching English Language Learners. PBS Parents is a trusted resource that’s filled with information on child development and early learning.

It also serves as a parent's window to the world of PBS KIDS, offering access to educational games and activities inspired by PBS KIDS programs. There are many ways that educators and administrators can connect with families of English language learners (ELLs) and keep that communication strong. This communication can be challenging to figure out, but it many cases, it can make a tremendous difference in students' learning. Here are some tips for schools, many of which are based on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's essential that schools have accurate contact information for families. Understanding why families' contact information might change, how they prefer to update that information, and how the school can make it easier for them to do so can go a long way in helping...

Start by looking for families' contact information and checking to see if information on file is still accurate. This may be challenging if families' housing and economic situations are unstable. Families who use prepaid cell phones may also change phone numbers regularly. If you don't have updated contact information for families, consider trying to pass on a message through: Explore how to create a welcoming classroom for your ELLs, specific strategies that support bilingual children in each area of literacy development, and tips on connecting with families. How can we foster language and literacy development in our classrooms?

It’s a big question as the language diversity in our schools grows every year. Bilingual learners truly are linguistic geniuses. Their brains work in overdrive to connect concepts, sounds, and understanding between two or more languages. It is a symphony at work as children’s native language and literacy skills become interwoven with their new English language and literacy skills. Learning just a little bit about your English Language Learners’ first language allows you to understand all the pieces that your bilingual children are weaving together and the kinds of support they may need... Interested in learning about other ways to support the ELLs in your classroom?

Dive in and learn how to create a welcoming classroom for your ELLs, specific strategies that support bilingual children in each area of literacy development, and tips on connecting with families. Educators talk about the strategies they use to build connections with English learners’ families. Topics: English Learners, Family and Stakeholder Engagement The number of English learners (ELs) in U.S. public schools has slowly increased over the years, according to the most recent data available from the National Center for Education Statistics, from 4.6 million students (9.4 percent) in 2011 to 5.3 million (10.6... And the overwhelming majority (93.1 percent) received English language instruction.

But even with a rich diversity of languages spoken in school communities, many school leaders are not prepared to communicate and collaborate with EL families. In this edition of What Works, Principal magazine asked several educators with expertise in engaging English learners how to reach out to family members to collaboratively advance students’ academic performance, social integration, and emotional... Here are some of their best ideas. What languages are spoken in your school community?Our students represent 157 countries and 186 languages. English Language Learners (ELLs) may have a wide variety of needs and special circumstances that libraries can address positively. For children, learning two (or more) languages increases the complexity of language and literacy development.

Also, social factors and family circumstances may impact ELL children’s literacy development. These include the parents’/caregivers’ literacy level in English and in the home language, knowledge of and attitudes toward library and school, legal status, sense of isolation or inclusion, support network, access to resources, income... An evaluation of ECRR, funded by an IMLS grant, found promising results about the impact that implementing ECRR has had on the ongoing literacy behaviors of ELL families. For more about this research, PLA and ALSC have posted two articles, “Libraries Emerging As Leaders in Parent Engagement” and “Libraries at the Ready,” by researchers Donna Celano and Susan B. Neuman. Information for librarians serving ELL families Reading Rockets: English Language LearnersArticles, videos, tip sheets, and research reports for families and professionals.

Spanish ResourcesInformation on early literacy for Spanish-speaking families from Saroj Ghoting. This page is available in English and Spanish. 8 Strategies for Preschool ELLs' Language and Literacy DevelopmentFrom Colorín Colorado, this article for preschool classroom teachers can also inform library storytimes and other preschool programs. Resources to share with ELL families Colorín Colorado: For FamiliesA project of WETA Public Media, Colorín Colorado provides bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of ELLs. Helping Your Child Learn in Two LanguagesThis tip sheet from the Illinois Early Learning Project encourages families to make their home language the foundation for literacy. International Children’s Digital LibraryFounded in 2002, the ICDL makes freely available hundreds of children's books from around the world.

The collection helps families have access to the books of their language and culture, as well as the majority culture, regardless of where they live. The books in the collection help children to understand the world around them and the global society in which they live. Learn how you can help your child learn to read by celebrating your language, culture, and special time together at home. This video is also available in 7 other languages. Five Principles with Twenty Examples for Engaging ELL Families-table James A.

Erekson is an associate professor of reading at the University of Northern Colorado. He has been teaching in the field of languages and literacy for more than 20 years, teaching four foreign languages in addition to reading and language arts courses. Erekson collaborates with K–12 educators to teach and do research on reading, writing, and oral language. He taught elementary grades and collaborated with middle school teachers to coordinate a successful reading center for eight years, where the vitality of social studies content helped young readers make breakthroughs in reading and... Erekson has presented his work both nationally and internationally, and he recently worked with Denver Public Schools' elementary teachers on a three-year state-funded learning experience on social studies and literacy. Whenever we ask veteran educators of English language learners (ELLs) the secret to their success, the answer is almost always the same: Build relationships with students and their families.

Relationships establish trust and improve communication. They help us better understand students’ strengths and needs, which is especially important for ELLs. If you’re new to working with English language learners, you may wonder how to partner with families who come from other countries and speak different languages. Understood is partnering with Colorín Colorado, the nation’s leading website providing research-based resources for educators and families of English language learners Here are six ideas to help you get started. As you read, look for one or two small steps that you might try with families this year.

Imagine what it’s like for immigrant families to enter your school or classroom. Do families see something familiar to them, like signs in their language or objects from their culture? Are books available in their home language? Small gestures can go a long way toward saying, “You are welcome here. We want your child to thrive.”

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