University of Kwazulu-Natal

Our Mission Colorín Colorado

Bonisiwe Shabane
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our mission colorín colorado

Colorín Colorado is the premier national website serving parents and teachers of English language learners (ELLs) in Grades PreK-12. Over the past decade, Colorín Colorado has established itself as a trusted leader in addressing the urgent challenge of helping ELLs around the country succeed. We are currently on track to serve more than 2 million unique visitors this year in English and Spanish. One reason for our continued growth is that English language learners now comprise an estimated 10% of the K-12 U.S. school population and their numbers have grown dramatically in the last twenty years. As demographics change nationwide, teaching ELLs has become a fact of life for schools everywhere: in big cities, suburbs, small towns, and rural communities.

Yet ELLs, who often come from low-income households and attend schools with limited resources, are among the most under-served students in our school system. Many teachers have received little or no training in how to work effectively with ELLs, how to accurately identify their students' abilities and academic needs, and how to communicate with ELL parents. A majority of teachers acknowledge that they need much more information and support in meeting the complex needs of these students and their families. Families, on the other hand, may be limited in their experience with the U.S. school system, may not feel welcome at school, or may be juggling multiple jobs during peak "parent involvement" hours. To support these educators and parents, Colorín Colorado offers free multimedia materials such as classroom videos, toolkits, research-based articles, multilingual tip sheets, newsletters, featured books and authors, and social media.

We provide information about topics such as reading together at home, creating a welcoming classroom environment, and helping ELLs meet the new Common Core State Standards. Colorín Colorado is a bilingual website in English and Spanish -- and we offer basic parent content in thirteen languages, including Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, and Hmong. The site has become a lifeline for the teachers and parents of ELLs, and we hear every day from audience members telling us that we're making a difference, including this comment: "Colorín Colorado is... It offers guidance, support and excellent strategies that teachers should use and that will benefit all students." Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in Washington D.C., and receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association. Colorín Colorado provides free research-based information, activities, and advice to parents, schools, and communities serving educators and families of English language learners (ELLs) in Grades PreK–12.

This article highlights the diverse leadership experiences of ELL educators and shares ideas for identifying and honing your own leadership capacity. Do you know a teen reader who loves a scary story? These books highlight the things that can make someone feel welcome in a new place. These stories for middle grades are set in schools across the country. Colorín Colorado is the premier national website serving educators and families of English language learners (ELLs) in Grades PreK-12. Colorín Colorado has been providing free research-based information, activities, and advice to parents, schools, and communities around the country for more than a decade.

Learn more about our mission to serve ELLs as well as the team that makes Colorín Colorado possible below. Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, and receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association. The name "Colorín Colorado" comes from a playful phrase that is often said at the end of stories in Spanish-speaking countries: "¡Y Colorín Colorado, este cuento se ha acabado!" or "¡Y Colorín Colorado, este... The saying brings back happy childhood memories of storytelling and reading for generations of people from many different countries. Making people smile about reading seemed like a perfect way to introduce our project. When does a new home feel like "home"?

These stories give a poignant voice to children who are adjusting to a new country, culture, and language. This booklist also includes stories of Puerto Rican children and families who move to the mainland. A number of related stories are included in our ELL Stories booklist. As a young boy, Bao and his father awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family.

Between hope-filled casts, Bao's father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam. Thi Bui's striking, evocative art paired with Phi's expertly crafted prose has earned this powerful picture books numerous starred reviews and awards. When young Rosita moved from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States, she didn’t know what to expect — but she knew she loved to sing and dance. Working to overcome the language barrier and bullying she experienced in a strange new country, Rita eventually made her way to Hollywood with a dream to be a star. There, she fought to be seen and heard and eventually reached the pinnacle of success, landing her iconic role in West Side Story and, finally, winning her groundbreaking Oscar. Product Description: Young Jorgito lives in San Francisco's Mission District, but he hasn't forgotten his native El Salvador.

He recalls the volcanoes, the tasty cornmeal pupusas, and his grandmother's stories. As he changes from timid newcomer to seasoned city dweller, Jorgito's memories and new adventures form a patchwork of dreams — the movie in his pillow — that is perfectly suited to his new... You've discovered ¡Colorín Colorado! You've told your friends and/or colleagues about it, but you'd still like to do more to spread the word about this wonderful resource for parents and educators of English language learners (ELLs). If you are a member of the press and need more information, please visit our About Us page, or contact our publicist, Laurie Fry, at (503) 399-7999. You're welcome to use any of the following graphics on your website and make it clickable to Colorín Colorado.

Please have your Web person copy and paste the following code onto your website (substitute cc_1.jpg with cc_3.jpg and adjust the width and height if you use the second graphic): Reading is the key to success in school and in life. As your child's first and best teacher, what you do at home to help your child become a good reader will better prepare him or her to reach their goals. Need some help finding ways to help your English language learners? Read these inspirational stories about English language learners, teachers and paraprofessionals who have overcome obstacles standing to achieve success. If you know a teacher, student, paraprofessional, principal or after-school program who inspires you and deserves recognition, please share their story with us!

Dr. Laurie Weaver is a Professor of Bilingual and Multicultural studies at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Laurie is also a proud single parent of Marisa, whom Laurie adopted from Guatemala when Marisa was about six months old. In 2002, Laurie wrote an article for Adoptive Families about Marisa's early language development. We caught up with Laurie to find out what advice she has for parent and educators about the language development of internationally adopted children. New Freedom Park is a Denver community park and garden which opened in 2012, built through a partnership between Denver Parks and Recreation Department and The Trust for Public Land.

What caught our attention is that the local community of refugees played a significant role in the park's design and planning. In this interview with Colorín Colorado, New Freedom Park Project Manager Wade Shelton describes the process of engaging the refugee community in the park's design, overcoming language barriers in meetings and procedural votes, and... Ayanna Cooper, Ed.D., is an independent consultant who specializes in and facilitates professional development for ELL educators. She is currently serving a second term on TESOL's Professional Development Standing Committee. She also serves as TESOL's Black English Language Professional and Friends Forum leader (BELPaF). In this interview with Colorín Colorado, Ayanna discusses strategies for culturally responsive teaching, highlights issues around black ELLs on which she'd like to see more research, and explains why she sees ELL education as...

Annie Mai is an educational consultant who hosts a weekly radio program for Vietnamese parents in California's Garden Grove Unified School District. In this exclusive interview with Colorín Colorado, Annie describes her experiences adjusting to life in America as a young Vietnamese immigrant, what her parents went through once they arrived in a new country, how... educational system.

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