Ileana Najarro is a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in schools across the country. She previously wrote for the Tampa Bay Times and the Houston Chronicle.
People rally outside Los Angeles Unified school district headquarters in support of 18-year-old high school senior Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz, in Los Angeles, on Aug. 19, 2025. The rally was planned after Guerrero-Cruz was taken into custody by federal immigration officials in early August. Whether ÌÇÐ͝Âþvlog choose to advocate in such situations depends on multiple factors, survey data found.
Eric Marquez, a global history teacher at ELLIS Preparatory Academy in New York City, holds a sign dedicated to his student, Dylan Lopez Contreras, who was detained by ICE agents on May 21, 2025, as he poses for a portrait in Marble Hill, N.Y., on Sept. 18, 2025. An analysis of an EdWeek Research Center survey reveals when and why ÌÇÐ͝Âþvlog would advocate for students detained by ICE.
Sylvelia Pittman stands for a portrait outside of Nash Elementary School in Chicago on Oct. 30, 2025. She spoke with Education Week about the fears she is grappling with regarding immigration raids and federal agents' increased presence near her school.
Pictures show what mouth shape different sounds make on the walls of Diana Oviedo-Holguin’s class at Heritage Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas, on Sept. 3, 2025. Texas officials are getting closer to launching a new bilingual special education certification that will help teachers better understand the intersecting needs of English learners who are also students with disabilities.
Second grade students raise their hands in Dalia Gerardo's classroom at West Elementary, in Russellville, Ala., on Dec. 9, 2022. Gerardo is a bilingual educator. Experts say Hispanic ÌÇÐ͝Âþvlog with bilingual certification can boost English learners' academic performance.
Des Moines Superintendent Ian Roberts visits the McKee Education Center on the first day of school, Sept. 4, 2025. Roberts resigned from his position as superintendent on Sept. 30 after immigration officers arrested him on Sept. 26.
Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts visits with preschoolers at the Taylor Education Center on Sept. 23, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa. He is currently being held by the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
New teacher participants at the summer institute engage in a professional development activity in June 2025 in Washington. The training is funded by a National Professional Development grant, the fate of which is now in limbo as the Trump administration cuts some of these programs.
Eric Marquez, a global history teacher at ELLIS Preparatory Academy, stands for a portrait at Ewen Park in the Marble Hill neighborhood of New York City on Sept. 18, 2025. Immigration officers detained one of his students at a routine court hearing in May.
English-learner aide Katherine Alfaro works with 4th grader Catarina Mendez Pedro at Russellville Elementary in Russellville, Ala., on Dec. 9, 2022. A national coalition of English-learner ÌÇÐ͝Âþvlog and advocates have called on federal officials to reinstate federal guidance for these students.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker talks with two crossing guards on Aug. 27, 2025, in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. On Aug. 15, 2025, he signed into law a bill that protects all students' right to a free, public education regardless of immigration status.
TahSoGhay Collah, right, teaches a 3rd grade English-learners class at the 700-student Worthington Intermediate School that serves grades 3 through 5, in Worthington, Minn., on Oct. 22, 2024. English-learner advocates call for national leaders to protect federal dollars dedicated to these students.