“A student’s primary language is a big part of their identity. It should be viewed as a valuable resource which can be, and should be, maintained as students acquire and develop English language proficiency,” says Elisa Rivera ‘08, a #RICalum and #secondgrade #duallanguage #teacher in #CentralFalls. ****************************** English language learners (ELLs) now represent 8% of all #students throughout #RI & 23% of #PVD students. Like many states across the country, #rhodeisland is facing a shortage of #teachers certified to teach #ELL students. RIC’s Feinstein School of #Education & #HumanDevelopment is working to address that shortage. It has been #collaborating with state and national #leaders to redesign its curriculum so that every graduate is endorsed to work with ELL or #specialeducation students. ****************************** Ms. Rivera uses culturally relevant #bilingual books like #biblioburro in the classroom so that her students can see themselves in #literature and kn...