Whose Student Is She?
- Resource Type
- Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
- Authors
- Varela, Elizabeth
- Source
- Teaching Tolerance. Spr 2010 (37):49-52.
- Subject
- Federal Legislation
Academic Achievement
Second Language Learning
Teacher Collaboration
Academic Standards
Immigrants
English (Second Language)
Language Proficiency
Teacher Role
Mainstreaming
Faculty Development
Individualized Instruction
Team Teaching
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1066-2847
As an eighth-grade student at Jackson Middle School in Nashville, Tennessee, Olivia Contreras had arrived in the United States from her native Nicaragua the previous year. But Olivia learned English so quickly that she was placed in mainstream content classes the following year. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 created a lot of stories like Olivia's--stories that include big steps forward and big steps back. NCLB placed a new focus and accountability on the achievement levels of English learners by requiring that they develop English proficiency and meet the same academic standards that all children are expected to meet by the year 2014. This article discusses how teacher collaboration may help such students stay afloat.