Volume 1 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal for K-12 Educational Leadership - Page 28

26Journal for K-12 Educational Leadership 2017, VOL. 1, ISSUE 1 http://www.dbu.edu/doctoral/edd SECONDARY TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARD ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND THEIR IMPACT ON ACHIEVEMENT Kevin N. Dixon, Ed.D. Introduction In the last several months, it has been difficult to turn on the television or the radio and not see or hear something about immigration, building a wall on our southern border, and/or travel bans. However, as educators in the state of Texas, we cannot afford to allow the politics on these issues to affect how we run our schools. Over the past decade, Hispanic students showed the largest percentage increase in school enrollment in several states, including Texas (Callinan and Ramirez, 2012). In 2011, the United States Department of Education reported that there were 5.5 million students enrolled in K–12 public education who were identified as English Language Learners (ELLs), and ELLs were the fast - est growing student subgroup, increasing annually by 10% (Global Institute for Language and Literacy Development, 2011). Background All students are guaranteed an appropriate education by law, and ELLs are afforded special protections guaranteed by the Supreme Court. Based on the decision of the 1972 case of Lau v. Nichols , ELLs must have equal access to the same opportunities offered to English fluent students. It was mandated that these opportunities be supported by state and local districts through funding, qualified person - nel, and research–based educational programs (Global In- stitute for Language and Literacy Development, 2011; Lau v. Nichols, 1972). In 2002, twenty years after the Supreme Court decisions, the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- cation Act finally closed the legal gap for ELLs. Within the rewrite, a comprehensive and integrated system of stan - dards, assessments, achievement, and accountability for ELLs was outlined–the same as for every other student in a state. The statute affirmed the responsibility of states to establish standards for raising English language proficien - cy levels through the four domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. For the first time in history, states, districts, and schools were required to provide an equal ed - ucation to ELLs. These cases were brought before the courts and the laws were created because students from Mexico and other countries were moving to Texas and other states at increas - ing rates, enrolling in high schools, but graduating at a much lower rate than English fluent students. Callinan and Ramirez (2012) reported that from 1999 to 2009, “the per - centage of Hispanic students increased in the four most pop- ulous states (California, New York, Florida, and Texas) as well as the United States as a whole” (p. 44). The report also stated that Texas and California had the largest increase in Hispanic students and lower percentages of white students as compared to the rest of the United States. Whether it was due to a lack of knowledge of how to ed - ucate ELLs or poor teacher attitudes toward ELLs, equal ed - ucational opportunities were not provided and achievement gaps between ELLs and English fluent students grew. Mi - nority students and their advocates filed the lawsuits cited above and laws were created to rectify the achievement gap