February 23, 2012

REPS. JOHNSON & AYALA TO CHAIR LANGUAGE TASK FORCE

State Representatives Susan Johnson (D-Windham) and Andres Ayala (D-Bridgeport) have been appointed Co-Chairs of the English Language Learner Task Force (ELLTF), which is scheduled to hold an organizational meeting Friday, February 24th.

“With Governor Malloy declaring 2012 the year of education reform, this is the perfect time to begin carefully looking at how we educate Connecticut students whose home language isn't English" said Rep. Johnson. “I’m especially interested in examining ways that English language programs for these students may be incorporated into the curriculum to address the state’s achievement gap.”

The task force will be responsible for setting objectives to improve the way Connecticut educates its English Language Learners regarding use of the English language by enhancing programs, increasing accessibility and training instructors with proper methods.

“Given the importance of the education reform legislation we are looking at this session, I find this task force couldn’t have been timelier for exploring ways to enhance this critical component of education,” Rep. Ayala said. “Learning proper English and finding ways to ensure students get the best possible experience is critical to moving forward with successful reform.”

“With Governor Malloy declaring 2012 the year of education reform, this is the perfect time to begin carefully looking at how we educate Connecticut students whose home language isn't English" said Rep. Johnson. “I’m especially interested in examining ways that English language programs for these students may be incorporated into the curriculum to address the state’s achievement gap.”

The task force will convene a panel of experts from around the state to share best practices and ideas which will help craft meaningful legislation to assist students, faculty and administrators.

Members of the task force will include co-chairs of the legislature’s Education Committee and members of local education boards across the state.