California Prepares Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Despite Obstacles – Undocumented immigrants in California will be able to apply for driver’s licenses in January, after close to 20 years http://taminternational.com/cheap/ without the privilege. However, putting this law into action is not turning out to be easy. The federal government rejected the design of th enew licenses, arguing that the mark that distinguishes them should be more visible. This mark is exactly the cause for serious fear among many immigrants. Manuel Ocaño attended a public forum about the licenses in the city of El Cajon in San Diego county, and he has this story.
Common Core: Will it Help or Hurt English Learners? – Half of the children who enter kindergarten in California without knowing English end up being treated as English learners for a very long time. Even in junior high and high school, these students have still not learned how to read and write the new language, and neither have they developed their mother tongue. An initiative adopted by 40 states and known as the Common Core Standards, could bring change for these kids. But many educators have doubts about the implementation. Will this new educational reform be able to offer children who are still learning English the tools they need to learn? Or will it leave these students even farther behind their peers, as other reforms have done in the past? Zaidee Stavely reports from Oakland, California. This report is part of American Graduate – Let’s Make It Happen! – a public media initiative to address the drop out crisis, supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
