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House Bill May Allow for Innovations Beyond the 4-Hour ELD Block

Amethyst Hinton Sainz Assessment, Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Literacy

In December, Emmanuel, a hypothetical yet typical student from Honduras, moves to the U.S. with his father. Emmanuel, based on his age and previous schooling, is placed into seventh grade. He speaks very little English; more accurately, he can read

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Holiday Tears and Cheers with English Language Learners

Amethyst Hinton Sainz Life in the Classroom, Love, Social Issues

There are many moments when I really wish my Spanish was better, and yesterday was one of those moments. It was the last day of the semester, and my introduction level English Language Development class (grade 7 and 8) was

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Dream On: Stressed Students at the End of DACA

Amethyst Hinton Sainz Current Affairs, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership

Policies, local and national, shape our classroom practices, our instructional decisions and our interactions with students and colleagues.   Sometimes, that connection is hard to see, especially when policies create a culture of silence which makes it difficult to track

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Closeup detail of a US visa document.

When Executive Orders Get Personal

Amethyst Hinton Sainz Current Affairs, Life in the Classroom, Social Issues

Yesterday as I drove home from work. NPR reported on the new executive orders expanding the groups prioritized for immigration enforcement– in effect, increasing the number of deportations of undocumented immigrants. But I didn’t hear much of the story. After

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