Most of the nation鈥檚 nearly five million English-language learners are returning to classes, whether virtual or in-person, after a months-long stretch of distance learning where they were separated from the educators who are key to their academic success.
How those students and their teachers rebound from the struggles tied to the could depend on guidance from their states and school districts about how to recover from learning loss and reconnect with families.
To help educators and state leaders take a look at what others are doing around the country, Amaya Garcia, the deputy director for English-learner education with the education policy program at New America, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, compiled a .
The resource reveals that some states鈥擜labama, Colorado, Minnesota, and Washington among them鈥攐ffered in-depth guidance on distance learning, including tips on how to identify English-learners and best support their language development. A handful of states also spelled out schools鈥� legal obligations to teach English-learners, including the need to provide information to families in their preferred language.
But other states, such as Alaska and Kansas, offered little or no specific guidance for educating English-learners, the review found.
鈥淭he discrepancies across states are unsurprising; however, the lack of guidance in some states is cause for concern,鈥� Garcia wrote in a .
By most accounts, many English-learners struggled during the spring school closures designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus鈥攁nd many have not yet returned for in-person instruction as districts weigh whether to physically reopen schools. Faced with the likelihood that English-learners鈥� English-language skills could further regress this fall, several states have urged districts to prioritize in-person learning for English-learners and other groups of students with specialized education needs.
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Photo Credit: Caption: A Los Angeles Unified School District student attends an online class at Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood in Los Angeles. The facility is open for children whose parents must leave home to work.(Jae C. Hong/AP)