A recent article from NJ Spotlight News highlights a trend that many educators have been witnessing firsthand for years: the number of students who need to learn English in American schools continues to grow. Districts across the country are seeing increased enrollment of multilingual learners and are working to expand programs to support them.
The article notes that students who understand little to no English make up about 8% of New Jersey’s public school population, a figure that reflects the changing linguistic landscape of schools across the country. (NJ Spotlight News) As districts respond, they are developing new bilingual programs, expanding newcomer supports, and attempting to recruit more educators trained to work with multilingual learners.
But these efforts come with significant challenges. Schools across the country are struggling to find enough teachers prepared to work in multilingual classrooms. As the article explains, some states are even launching “grow your own” programs that encourage multilingual students to become bilingual teachers and return to serve their communities. These initiatives reflect both the urgency of the moment and the recognition that language diversity in schools is not a temporary trend, but a structural feature of modern American education.
For educators who work directly with English learners, none of this is surprising. Linguistic diversity has been steadily increasing in classrooms for decades. Schools are welcoming students from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and that diversity enriches the learning environment for everyone. People coming from different cultures not only bring their experiences into their new communities, but also passion and desire to contribute to the economic balance of America. For this, it is widely accepted, the need to be fluent in English comes with the promise of greater economic opportunities. One cannot refute that this fact ripples through immigrant communities far and wide.
Yet this conversation about language learning is unfolding at the same time that immigration policy has once again moved to the forefront of national debate. Recent headlines surrounding deportation efforts and immigration enforcement have created uncertainty and fear in many immigrant communities. Political rhetoric may suggest that immigrant populations are shrinking or disappearing, but the reality in our classrooms tells a different story.
English learners are still here.
Students continue to arrive in schools every day needing support as they navigate a new language, a new culture, and often an entirely new educational system. The data highlighted by NJ Spotlight News makes clear that schools are not preparing for a decline in multilingual learners. They are preparing for continued growth. This outlook seems rather antithetical to what one might surmise given the talking points of cable news and editorial publications. Mainstream news tends to signal gloom and doom for immigration, but, according to this New Jersey article, it simply isn’t the case. So, why the contrast is messaging? One can only wonder.
At the end of the day, once you filter out the noise, there is another dimension of this conversation that often receives less attention: literacy.
While many policies and programs focus on language acquisition, English learners (particularly adolescents and adults) often face an additional challenge: developing the reading and writing skills that allow them to fully participate in academic and professional life. Language proficiency alone is not enough. It plays a role in assimilating in the city or regional culture, sure, but overall it needs to lead to stronger literacy as a matter of acceleration, not just survival. Literacy is the bridge that allows learners to access knowledge, express ideas, and engage with the world around them. Sometimes the most impactful forms of communication aren’t conveyed verbally, but through written media.
Too often, however, literacy instruction for English learners is treated as an afterthought. Many literacy programs and materials are designed primarily for native-speaking children, leaving older learners without resources that address their unique linguistic needs. This gap is what has motivated much of the work I have developed through the I Want To Learn English (IWTLE) curriculum. Over the past decade, my classroom research and instructional practice have focused on how structured literacy approaches (particularly phonics-based instruction integrated with reading and writing) can support English learners who are beginning their literacy journey in English. When learners develop the ability to decode words, connect sounds to written language, and express their ideas through writing, they begin to move beyond survival English toward true communication and independence.
The current moment reminds us of something important: the need to support English learners does not disappear when political winds shift. Immigration debates may dominate headlines, but classrooms tell a more enduring story. Students continue to arrive with dreams, determination, and a desire to learn. They are learning new words, writing their first sentences in English, and discovering their voices through literacy. And as long as they continue to walk into our classrooms, the responsibility to support them—through thoughtful instruction, strong literacy foundations, and inclusive educational practices—remains as important as ever.
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