This two-part podcast by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) addresses reclassification procedures and labels associated with English learners and the impact that classifications and labels can have on the success and experiences of students. The podcast features an exceptional panel of experts including Maha Abdelkader, Education Program Specialist at OELA; Dr. Molly Faulkner-Bond, Research Director at WestEd; Dr. Ilana Umansky, Associate Professor at the College of Education at University of Oregon; Dr. Julie Lara, Director of the Emergent Bilingual Support Division at the Texas Education Agency; and Patricia Sandoval-Taylor, Director of Language Acquisition Department at Tucson Unified School District.
In part I of the podcast Maha Abdelkader discusses the policy context in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act associated with labeling and classifying English learners. This presentation is followed by Dr. Molly Faulkner-Bond who talks about Reclassification of English learners in the context of labels and pathways. Lastly, Dr. Ilana Umansky presents on the positive and negative consequences of English learner-related labels.