Bilingual Educators

Read more about the need for and experiences of teachers who speak both English and another language
Recruitment & Retention Opinion How a Bilingual Educator Pipeline Gets Built
To address a shortage of bilingual teachers, one district-university partnership collaborates to create a bilingual teacher pipeline.
Urban Education Contributor, July 23, 2018
4 min read
Teacher Preparation The National Shortage of ELL Teachers Has Caught the Eye of Congress
Legislation proposed by congressional Democrats would create a grant program intended to help colleges of education and school districts partner on creating curricula for aspiring ELL teachers.
Corey Mitchell, January 25, 2018
2 min read
Federal Schools Are Falling Short for Many English-Learners
In a National Academies report on the state of education for ELLs, one theme is consistent: public schools need more resources and research.
Corey Mitchell, March 7, 2017
6 min read
Equity & Diversity Bilingual School Staff Who Want to Teach Face Bureaucratic, Financial Barriers
With the demand for bilingual educators on the rise, a new report explores the kinds of hurdles that make it difficult for multilingual classroom aides to make the transition to becoming teachers.
Corey Mitchell, January 24, 2017
2 min read
Equity & Diversity Policy Changes Could Solve the Nation's Bilingual Teacher Shortage, Group Argues
Unnecessary hurdles keep multilingual school aides from becoming fully-licensed teachers in classrooms where they're sorely needed to educate an ever-expanding English-language learner population.
Corey Mitchell, June 2, 2016
2 min read
Amaya Rodriguez-Lema, of Bilbao, Spain, conducts a reading lesson with 2nd grade students at William Lipscomb Elementary School in Dallas. Rodriguez-Lema is one 150 teachers from Spain currently working in the district.
Amaya Rodriguez-Lema, of Bilbao, Spain, conducts a reading lesson with 2nd grade students at William Lipscomb Elementary School in Dallas. Rodriguez-Lema is one 150 teachers from Spain currently working in the district.
Brandon Thibodeaux for Education Week
Every Student Succeeds Act Need for Bilingual Educators Moves School Recruitment Abroad
For big-city districts, Puerto Rico and Spain have becoming recruiting hot spots amid a shortage of teachers for dual-immersion and English-as-a-second-language programs.
Corey Mitchell, January 25, 2016
6 min read
Equity & Diversity Losing Bilingual Support Staff Can Affect ELL Students, Parents
Layoffs of bilingual secretaries in several Detroit schools come at a time when the U.S. Department of Education and other organizations have called for districts to redouble their efforts to connect with English-language learner parents.
Corey Mitchell, December 10, 2015
3 min read
English Learners Interest in Bilingual-Instruction Programs Growing, Despite Scrutiny
Latino parents are increasingly sending their children to bilingual schools in an attempt to retain the family's Spanish-language fluency. Opponents of bilingual education say students in these programs don't perform proficiently in state tests.
Marlena Chertock, April 11, 2014
2 min read
English Learners For Illinois' Preschools, Bilingual Teachers Are In Short Supply
A new study finds that Illinois' groundbreaking bilingual preschool mandate suffers from a major shortage of properly trained early childhood teachers.
Lesli A. Maxwell, September 25, 2012
2 min read
Education Bilingual Teachers Largely Unaffected in Dallas Layoffs
Dallas school superintendent Michael Hinojosa has protected almost all bilingual teachers from recent layoffs, according to the Dallas Morning News (via Colorin colorado).
Mary Ann Zehr, October 24, 2008
1 min read
English Learners Bilingual Certification Under Inquiry in Houston
Authorities in Houston are investigating allegations that as many as 90 bilingual-education teachers with almost no English skills and no college degree are teaching in the Houston Independent School District.
Lynn Schnaiberg, April 6, 1994
4 min read
English Learners 'Homegrown' Bilingual-Ed. Teachers Take Root
When Ariel Nievas came to California from Buenos Aires at age 13, he spoke only Spanish.
Lynn Schnaiberg, March 23, 1994
7 min read
English Learners Shortage of Trained Bilingual Teachers Is Focus of Both Concern and Attention
As thousands of bilingual teachers gathered for a conference here late last month, the halls of the city's convention center were lined with booths displaying Native American can art or literature from teacher recruiters.
Peter Schmidt, February 12, 1992
6 min read
English Learners Calif. Is Short 14,000 Bilingual Teachers, Panel Finds
California is more than 14,000 bilingual teachers short of meeting the needs of its limited-English-proficient students and is likely to fall even further behind unless sweeping recruitment efforts are undertaken, a state education department task force has concluded.
Peter Schmidt, June 19, 1991
4 min read