Babies and toddlers are on a roll! 

Our children have been scoring some exciting victories in federal policy, not to mention in Illinois and other states. 

While the recent attention and resources directed toward infants and toddlers may be unprecedented, the Latino Policy Forum and its early childhood partners have long known that supporting the learning and development of our youngest children is one of the best bets when it comes to strengthening educational outcomes.

In a report released last fall, Primeros Pasos: Strengthening Programs that Support Illinois Infants and Toddlers, the Forum made a clear case for the importance of the early years, specifically from birth-to-three.

It... Continue Reading

Illinois’ student population is rapidly growing more linguistically and culturally diverse. Close to one in every 4 public school children speak a language other than English in the home, according to Illinois census data.  And the number of students who identify as English Language Learners (ELLs) statewide—now close to one out of every 10 students— has grown an astonishing 83 percent over the last 15 years.  As these students transition into general education classrooms, nearly every teacher in the state will likely be working with ELLs at some point in their careers. 

The increasing diversity of the Illinois student body stands in stark contrast to teacher demographics—largely white, female, and monolingual. ... Continue Reading

Education policy is best understood from the classroom, not an office. That’s why the Latino Policy Forum seeks opportunities to visit local schools and education centers to observe first-hand how our advocacy efforts support Latino students and our mission to ameliorate Latino achievement gaps. That’s also why we jumped at the opportunity to join the Chicago Education Foundation  in a visit to Ms. Carmina Aguirre’s first grade bilingual classroom at Sawyer Elementary inGagePark.

Gage Park is one of the largest and fastest growing Latino community areas in Chicago, with large concentrations of English Language Learners (ELLs). The visit would offer an opportunity for... Continue Reading