Thursday, May 21
8:45-10:30 ET
Welcome
Ajay Chaudry, director, Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population, Urban Institute 
Panelist
Olivia Golden, institute fellow, Urban Institute; former assistant secretary for children and families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (moderator)
Clemencia Cosentino, acting director, Program for Evaluation and Equity Research, Urban Institute
Manny Rivera, CEO, Global Partnership Schools, Inc.; former New York State deputy secretary of education and superintendent of schools, Rochester, New York
Paul Jargowsky, professor of public policy, University of Texas at Dallas; visiting scholar, Urban Institute
Kathleen Leos, president and CEO, Global Institute for Language and Literacy Development; former assistant deputy secretary and senior policy adviser, Title III-NCLB, U.S. Department of Education
Bethany Little, chief education counsel, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Complete Recording
One fifth of school children have at least one foreign-born parent. Soon, more than 30 percent of all students will come from homes where English is not the primary language. Linguistic diversity is not unique to New York City, Los Angeles, or other very large school districts in traditional gateway cities. The public schools of Rochester, New York, for example, serve students from 35 language groups. Students in Rochester, Minnesota, collectively speak 65 foreign languages.
Children, families, and communities with international roots bring important strengths to schools, but they may be isolated from resources and networks that other Americans take for granted. Whether these families settle disproportionately in neighborhoods with other poor families or in new immigrant communities, already overwhelmed, underresourced, or ill-prepared schools may be unable to respond.
So far, the evidence suggests a mixed track record for America's schools and large differences among immigrant groups. With the fate of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) before Congress -- and the future of the nation's economy and children uncertain -- join us for a panel discussion of
• what we know about the neighborhoods where immigrant families live and how these neighborhoods affect children's opportunities, including schooling;
• how NCLB has shifted school policies and practices for these children and their academic progress;
• how education reforms and the experiences of students learning English intersect, and what this means for the children's policy arena;
• whether large urban school districts and new immigrant destinations need different policy prescriptions; and
• what federal, state, and local policies might increase school success for immigrant and English language students.
Resources:
- Bios (pdf)
- Cosentino: Putting English Language Learners on the Educational Map (pdf)
- Jargowsky: Immigrants and Neighborhood Poverty (pdf)
At the Urban Institute
2100 M Street N.W., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C.
Latest Research
Browse by Topic:
