English language learners find resources at East Lansing library

Rosana Souza was searching for a place to help her Brazilian sister-in-law to improve her English. Souza’s sister-in-law, Hilda Pamplona, moved here to visit and to communicate with more people. Pamplona is not alone. According to a report from DATA USA, in 2015, 8,206 (16.9%) of East Lansing citizens are non-English speakers, which is lower than the national average of 21.1%. Such a small group is not ignored by the city.

Schools face growing number of immigrant children

By ZHAO PENG
Capital News Service
LANSING— The number of English language learners in Michigan’s elementary and secondary schools has increased 15,784 since 2011, according to the Department of Education (DOE). And with more immigrants settling in Michigan, more actions need to be done to help immigrant students with their English, according to the department. Michigan has 99,500 immigrant students this school year, a significant increase from the previous year, according to the DOE. Troy, Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Farmington and Warren Consolidated Schools have a larger number of newly arrived immigrant students than other districts. Dearborn and Detroit Public Schools have the largest proportion of English learners, DOE statistics show.