How High Is Hispanic Enrollment in Our Schools?

Here are interesting statistics on the growing number of Hispanic students in K-12 schools and in college.  Truly amazing!  This trend is continuing to grow. Data from the Pew Hispanic report.

Hispanics Set School, College Enrollement Records. Suzanne Gamboa 8.21.12 .AP Associated Press.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hispanics-set-school-college-enrollment-records-17044718

ELL - All Content Teachers in Mass. Being Trained

What's happening in Massachusetts could very well happen in all states - Wisconsin too! Extensive training for all academic content teachers will be required as a result of federal civil rights investigation that found current programs were inadequate.  More than 7% of Mass. students are ELL and the numbers are increasing every year, just like in Wisconsin.  Massachusetts has scrapped the current state standards for ELL proficiency and are adopting WIDA standards and assessments which we are very familiar with.  Coaching will be available to teachers as part of this effort in addition to coursework.
Three training highlights...

1. Getting teachers to understand and embrace their responsibility for teaching language to ELLs.
2. Understanding how language is acquired.
3. Instructional strategies and practices that make up sheltered English immersion.

Roger Rice, a civil rights lawyer and critic of the Massachuetts' programs for ELLs said he thinks training for teachers must go beyond core-content teachers.

What is your reaction to Massachutte's new training requirements for content area teachers?  Do you agree with Roger Rice?  Please comment...especially those of you who have had experience teaching ELLs. 

Mass. Moves on ELL-Training for Regular Teachers.  Lesli Maxwell. 8.8.12.  Premium article -  Education Week.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/08/08/37massell.h31.html?tkn=RPXFqsHTkepXwBT4TFRRnPo4I1i8Y5%2BUtoqQ&cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS2

ELLs - Teacher-Led Focus Project on CC

Follow these Albuquerque N.M teachers on Colorin Colorado website who have received a hefty grant to develop ELL lessons.  Wouldn't it have been nice to have received this grant ourselves? Anyway read this article to learn about a model  8th grade reading lesson.  Read more about this project.

ELLs AreFocus In Teacher-Led Project on Common Core.  Leslie Maxwell 6.26.12 Education Week - Learning the Language
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2012/06/albuquerque_teachers_plan.html?cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS2