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From https://chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2019/05/02/new-york-state-leaders-want-teachers-to-spend-more-time-learning-how-to-help-students-new-to-english/

New York State leaders want teachers to spend more time learning how to help English learners
By Reema Amin
May 2, 2019

Right now, students studying to be teachers in New York are required to spend six semester hours learning about language acquisition and literacy. Last month, state education policymakers proposed requiring teacher preparation programs to dedicate three of those hours to how English language learners learn and acquire language.

“Courses in language acquisition and literacy development will help young teachers meet the particular needs of these students and build on the success we are seeing in New York’s ELL programs,” said Chancellor Betty Rosa in a press release.

Whether this change is enough to address the significant challenges that immigrant students face remains to be seen. Last June, just 29 percent of English language learners across the state and 35 percent in New York City graduated from high school on time, though these rates have gone up slightly in recent years. In New York City, just 10 percent of English language learners scored proficient on their third to eighth-grade reading state exams last year — up from 6 percent the year before (though because of changes to the assessments, state officials have cautioned against making comparisons).

Read the full article at https://chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2019/05/02/new-york-state-leaders-want-teachers-to-spend-more-time-learning-how-to-help-students-new-to-english/