 Purpose

o To figure out why American ELL education is failing and suggest effective
change

 Thesis
o To fix the problem of widespread ELL failure, American society as a whole must
make ELL education a priority, encouraging future educators to add ELL
certification and making real, purposeful efforts to improve legislation to directly
encompass ELL education guidelines and implement measures to better
accommodate them into American schools.

1. Background Information
a. Proportion of ELL students in America
i. "About 1 out of every 10 public school students in the United States right
now is learning to speak English" (Sanchez, 2017).
ii. As of 2015, there were 4.7 million ELL students in the United States,
correlating to a proportion of about 10% of all US students (Education of
English Language Learners, 2015).
b. Failure and dropout rates of ELL vs. English students
i. ELL students in secondary schools are more than twice as likely to have to
repeat a grade and drop out of school than their peers (Education 2015).
ii. Only 1.5 of American secondary schools have high proportions of ELL
students actually pass all of their final exams, and only 8% are considered
college-ready (Education 2015).
iii. "No matter where they go to school, most ELLs are struggling because
they have little or no access to quality instruction tailored to their needs"
(Sanchez, 2017).
c. Why it matters
i. Many Americans fail to realize just how many ELL students there are and
how many of them are actually American citizens who are still being
failed by the American education system. Thorough background
information will help to increase the likelihood that ELL education is
made a priority which is a major point of my thesis.

2. ELL Teacher Shortage

a. How bad it is
i. 40% of elementary bilingual or ESL teachers and 35% of secondary ESL
teachers in Texas aren't fully certified (Education)
ii. Most ELL students are concentrated in low-performing schools that are
staffed with untrained or poorly trained teachers (Sanchez, 2017).
iii. "In 2013, 32 states reported not having enough teachers for ELL students"
(Sanchez, 2017).
b. How to fix it
 i. "The Rhode Island Foundation has teamed with state and local education
leaders to send 60 public school teachers back to college to become
certified as ESL instructors or bilingual teachers" (Best).
ii. "Video conferencing could open the door to much larger groups receiving
face-to-face instruction without teachers having to physically return to
college to add needed certification" (Best).
iii. Simplest, long-term solution is simply to encourage the next generation of
educators to add bilingual certification to their education major
iv. New legislation (research in next section)
c. Why it matters
i. In my thesis I am arguing that the teacher shortage is one of the main
contributors to the gravity of the ELL failure rates in America. This
research will help me prove this and provide ideas for how to alleviate the
issue.

3. Legislation
a. Current Laws
i. "The first intensive federal monitoring of No Child Left Behind Act
waivers shows states struggling [to] help English learners adjust to new
standards" (Sanchez 2017).
b. Proposed Laws
i. A new bill has been proposed to Congress entitled the "Reaching English
Learners Act" to attempt to create a solution for the shortage of ELL
teachers in America (Mitchell).
1. It would function by creating a grant program under Title II of the
1965 Higher Education Act to award 5-year grants to eligible
teachers (Bill in Congress…).
2. Democratic lawmakers in support of the bill argue that the grants
will "help develop educators who can recognize and address the
social-emotional needs of English-learners…and promote family
and community engagement in ELL programs" (Mitchell).
c. Why it matters
i. Another large part of my thesis is how new legislation must be put in
place. Since the current legislation is not properly accommodating ELLs,
the new law must make it through Congress to effect major change.
Without a law, school systems are far less likely to follow any suggested
change.

4. Examples
a. Successful school systems
i. *In development
b. Henrico County
i. Have yet to meet with Ms. Gooss
 ii. *In development
c. Why it matters
i. By looking at successful school systems I can better understand the
successful strategies for my ultimate proposal.

5. Proposal
a. Effective strategies
i. Strategic staffing
1. Hiring teachers who are bilingual or certified in education “helps
staff to understand ELLs’ perspectives, communicate with them,
and serve as role models for students” (Castellon et al.).
ii. Ongoing assessment with follow-through
1. Successful schools “assess [] student capacities (language and
otherwise) thoughtfully and in detail from entry through graduation
and beyond, and update [] instruction, course offerings, and
structures based on this data” (Castellon et al.).
iii. Social-emotional support
1. “the school goes above and beyond in connecting ELLs and their
families with wraparound services related to health, housing, food
security, employment, and community resources so that students
and their families have successful transitions into their new
communities” (Castellon et al.).
b. New Legislation