One in 14 Connecticut students understand so little English, they are considered English learners, and the state has the largest gap in achievement in the country between its English learners and its English-speaking peers. As part of its recent exploration of issues surrounding English-language learners, the Mirror wanted to hear what these students feel is helping them. Here is what some of them had to say.
English Language Learners
Posted inEducation
Education reform: Feds find Connecticut’s plans lacking
Reviewers at the federal education department found the way Connecticut measures the performance of its public schools lacking and its plans to begin tracking the achievement of English learners vague. State officials must now decide whether they want to revise or defend Connecticut’s plan for complying with federal law before U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos officially considers whether to approve or reject it.
Posted inEducation
Education Commissioner Wentzell: ‘Our English learners need more support’
“The efforts around English learners are one of our most important priorities,” says state education Commissioner Dianna Wentzell said. “… Our English learners need more support than they are currently getting, and we know that because of our data.” The Mirror sat down recently with Wentzell to speak about the state’s approach to providing that support.
Posted inEducation
English learners: Other places are showing what works
School districts across the country that have committed to reaping the benefits of dual-language instruction have found ways to make big gains in the face of obstacles, both perceived and real.
Posted inEducation
English learners: A jumble of strategies produces distressing results
A number of weaknesses in the approach the state and school districts across Connecticut have taken to educating the rapidly increasing number of English learners has produced distressing outcomes on nearly every benchmark – including academic achievement gaps between English learners and their peers that are among the worst in the nation. Second of three stories.
Posted inEducation
English learners: Struggling CT schools ignore a proven path
Connecticut has largely failed to embrace the one model for English learners that research consistently shows works best by far. It’s being adopted and expanded elsewhere. First of three stories.
Posted inEducation
For students with limited English, glaring gaps in achievement and state remedies
One of every 15 students in Connecticut’s public schools speaks and understands only limited English, and their academic achievement lags far behind that of their classmates. The achievement gap in Connecticut is among the highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut bilingual education programs need reform
Connecticut has the nation’s largest achievement gap between English Language Learners and their peers who are English fluent. it is the interest of everyone in the state that we fix this shameful situation by embracing educational models that have been proven to produce good results.
Posted inNews
Op-Ed: Connecticut bilingual education programs need reform
Connecticut has the nation’s largest achievement gap between English Language Learners and their peers who are English fluent. it is the interest of everyone in the state that we fix this shameful situation by embracing educational models that have been proven to produce good results.