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.