American Federation of Teachers and WETA’s Reading Rockets Announce Partnership To Provide Free New Resources to Teachers of Latino ELL Students
New Online Resource Signals Innovative Direction for AFT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and Reading Rockets, a multimedia project of public broadcasting station WETA in Washington, D.C., today announced a new partnership to help educators meet the growing challenges of teaching Latino English language learners (ELLs). The announcement included the unveiling of a free "For Educators" section of the bilingual Web site, www.colorincolorado.org.

Colorín Colorado is the first major, comprehensive bilingual Web site created for parents and educators to help children learn to read.  Launched in 2003, the award-winning Colorín Colorado project is part of an ongoing WETA initiative called Reading Rockets (www.ReadingRockets.org), which looks at how young children learn to read, why so many kids struggle and what can be done about it. Reading Rockets is funded primarily by a major grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. 

"Over 60 percent of America’s schools already have ELL students enrolled, and the number of these children is projected to continue increasing well into the future," said AFT Executive Vice President Antonia Cortese. "Educators want an opportunity to give each ELL student meaningful access to the educational curriculum.  That is why we developed this new section of Colorín Colorado.  It gives education practitioners immediate help on addressing the needs of ELL students and helps them build a stronger partnership with parents."  The educator section of www.colorincolorado.org is the first of several high-quality resources that the AFT will unveil this year to better address the needs of educators who work with children who are learning English.

The name Colorín Colorado refers to the popular ending to virtually all Spanish language fairy tales and is intended to evoke happy memories of reading and being read to.  While there is no literal translation to Colorín Colorado, the phrase is equivalent to "… and they lived happily ever after!"

"Across the country, we have more and more children who don't speak English at home," said Noel Gunther, executive director of Reading Rockets.  "But less than 3 percent of teachers of ELL students have been formally prepared and certified to teach them. We are committed to giving parents and educators the best research-based information about teaching young children to read."

The educator section of the Web site unveiled today provides an array of research-based resources for teachers and paraprofessionals who work with ELL students.  The resources will help educators better understand and address the needs of their Latino ELL students, providing tips on everything from the placement and assessment of ELL children to the fostering of stronger parent-teacher partnerships.  A monthly e-newsletter and professional development webcasts will regularly update the information available to educators.

The content was developed with the literacy expertise of Reading Rockets, a team of veteran practitioners from the AFT (list attached), and two main research advisers, Dr. Margarita Calderón, principal research scientist, Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE), Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Claude Goldenberg, professor of teacher education and associate dean of the College of Education, California State University, Long Beach. Both Drs. Calderón and Goldenberg are members of the National Literacy Panel for Language Minority Children and Youth.  “We are proud of this project and also very pleased to be working with WETA’s Reading Rockets and some of the world’s foremost experts on ELL instruction,” said Cortese.

"All children learn best when their parents are involved in their learning,” said Layla Wright-Contreras, manager of the Colorín Colorado project.  “Our partnership with AFT has allowed us to expand our original parent-centered site to become an indispensable resource for teachers as well.  Latino ELL students have traditionally suffered some of the lowest achievement rates in the country—some studies show nearly 47 percent never graduate from high school.  Our goal is to help teachers and parents work together to bring achievement up."

"Now, parents, teachers and paraprofessionals can get on the same page and work together when it comes to ELL instruction,” added Catalina Fortino, ELL specialist at New York City's Teacher Center. “This Web site is exactly what teachers and parents want and need. As far as we’re concerned, Colorín Colorado is not just a great way to end a good story, it’s the wonderful beginning to a whole new world of learning."

English Language Learners Educator Cadre - 2004-2005
Catalina Fortino    
New York, NY    

Linda Guthrie    
Los Angeles, CA      

Rita Haecker    
Austin, TX     

Hobie Hukill    
Dallas, TX     

Susan Lafond
Watervliet, NY

Cassandra Lawrence
Old Bridge, NJ

Elaine LeBoeuf
Los Angeles, CA

Cynthia Lundgren
St. Paul, MN

Miriam Martinez
Albuquerque, NM

Claudia Navarro
Miami, FL

Rebecca Palacios
Corpus Christi, TX

Ada Pujols-Torres
Chappaqua, NY

Kristina Robertson
Apple Valley, MN

Janet Montoya Schoeppner
Albuquerque, NM

Terri Siguenza
St. Louis Park, MN

Miriam Soto Pressley
Hammond, IN

Milagros Santiago
Chicago, IL

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