Nebraska Among 13 States With At Least 200 Percent Growth In "English Language Learners"
January 07, 2009

Education professionals sometimes call them English Language Learners, and increased numbers of ELL students in Nebraska is among the highest in the nation, according to Education Week magazine’s latest edition.

The number of ELL students in the state grew by more than 200 percent between 2000-2005. Only 12 other states reached or exceeded that level. Those numbers compare with a nationwide increase of just 57 percent during the same period.

With a total enrollment of 8,588 students, for example, the Grand Island school district includes 2,300 ELL, the Grand Island Independent reported.

The Education Week nationwide study, reported in a series of articles, included these findings:

Families of school-age English-language learners are consistently more socio-economically disadvantaged than those of their peers. ELL youths are half as likely to have a parent with a two- or four-year college degree and much more likely to live in a low-income household. While two-thirds of ELL youths have a parent who holds a steady job, their parents typically earn much less than those of non-English-language learners.

English-language learners of school age tend to be younger than members of the non-ELL population. That pattern may result from high birth rates among language-minority populations, high immigration rates among the youngest ELL youths, and the tendency to acquire pro�