Today is the last day to apply for Federal aid from the Race to the Top fund which has been put in place by the Obama Administration. There are approximately 4.3 billion dollars available for 40 states across the country to create innovative reform programs for their school districts. However, in order to qualify for a piece of the pie, states must take several definitive measures such as close failing schools, increase academic standards and evaluate teachers based on their students performance.

Knowing that there is a significant education gap between ELL and native English speaking students, does the Race to the Top program affect ELL students in a negative or positive manner? For instance, in the Hispanic/Latino community the education gap disproportionately affects Latino students. According to Arlene Hambrick, Ph.D., of the North Central Regional Educational Library, “By Grade 12 … 4 percent of Hispanic students reach the proficient level in mathematics, as opposed to the 20 percent of white students.” Would this statistic make schools with high ELL populations vulnerable to closure? Or would it serve as a catalyst in fund allocation to improve student performance?

A host of factors, from historical to cultural to financial, contribute to the unique experience of ESL and ELL families that impact their scholastic accomplishments. Unfortunately, all too often these details are overlooked within the education system at-large due to budget limitations. Would Race to the Top programs begin to address such questions as “What communications medium is preferred by ELL audiences?” and “What languages are they communicating in?” The answers to these questions will ultimately determine how school districts will engage their English Language Learning (ELL) students, decrease the education gap and ultimately improve academic achievement.

Keep Learning!
Maggie

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