ELT World North America

New York: Hidden among the nearly 150,000 students across New York struggling to learn English are an estimated 15,100 who have had little or no formal schooling and are often illiterate in their native languages. New York is one of the only states to identify these difficult cases, classifying them as Students with Interrupted Formal [...]

New York: Only one out of four English language learners graduated within four years in 2007, and that number is declining, according to an alarming report reviewed by the state Board of Regents. More ELLs graduate after five or six years, but results are still too low, said State Ed Senior Deputy Commissioner Johanna Duncan-Poitier. [...]

New York: The latest round of refugee children resettled in Rochester has filled existing school programs for English language learners, so the City School District last week opened a new program at School 44. Today’s refugees sent to Rochester have less history of formal schooling, increasing the challenge to prepare students to pass required state [...]

Buffalo - New York: Nicole Marrero has attended Buffalo’s alternative school for more than two years but says she can’t understand her teachers, her classmates or her assignments, reports the Buffalo News. Nicole, who moved to Buffalo with her family from Puerto Rico six years ago, speaks fluent Spanish but very little English. And none [...]

More than 2,500 students whose first language is not English will be targeted for academic assistance under a $15 million state grant announced today for the Buffalo Public Schools. The Contract for Excellence funds will be used to improve instruction at 17 city schools, and $1 million will be used specifically for pupils attempting to [...]