The Florida Department of Education is a big player in that state’s debate over how much training is necessary for reading teachers to effectively teach English-language learners. The department is proposing a reduction in the number of hours of training required for reading teachers in how to work with ELLs, saying that the high bar makes it hard for schools to find such teachers, according to a Dec. 26 article in the Miami Herald. Here’s where the matter stands:

Current rules require teachers who educate students learning English to have 300 hours of training. Educators who teach reading need an additional 300 hours. Some districts allow teachers to cut the training nearly in half if they have trained in one area or the other. But the state wants to reduce the training even more, possibly to as little as 90 hours. (more…)

On one side of the La family’s living room in San Rafael, a small Christmas tree twinkled with colored lights. On the opposite wall, an offering of dumplings rested on a wooden altar to the Buddha. The two displays reflect the blended traditions that Vietnamese-born Michael and Thiem La share with their four American-born daughters.

“My grandmother called the other day to remind my mother that it’s the time of year when you buy sweet sesame dumplings and pray to the Buddha,” said Jennifer, 12. “When you eat the dumplings, it symbolizes that you are a year older.”

As Jennifer talked, her older sister Susan, 17, dashed off to her part-time job as a retail clerk, where she was putting in extra hours over the holidays. Little sisters Angela, 6, and Emily, 5, drew busily with colored markers at a child-size card table, their eyes sparkling on the first day of winter vacation. (more…)