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English language learners (ELLs) in K-12 schools continue to increase in number across the country. In California alone, about 1.5 million students are not sufficiently proficient in English to perform optimally in mainstream classrooms. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 emphasizes the need for highly qualified teachers, but just who is qualified to apply best educational practices to help ELLs reach their potential in an academic environment? This article will discuss how the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)/National Council on the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) P-12 ESL teacher-preparation standards provide a nationally recognized framework for teacher preparation and evaluation, while at the same time providing for flexibility in the way in which certified ESOL teachers are prepared. Graduates of programs that follow these standards are ready to begin meeting the challenges of educating the next generation of ELLs in American classrooms.

This paper examines the potential for teachers to act as researchers within their own classrooms. It utilizes a four-step process for such classroombased research: observation, reflection, planning, and action. The focus of the research described is the creation of a Communicative Writing Framework (CWF) to aid in the examination and evaluation of linguistically diverse children’s writing. Research by James Cummins, Katherine Perera, and Linda Flower provide the theoretical basis for such a framework. Application of the CWF is made to (a) data from the Language Assessment Scales-Writing, a national assessment tool, and (b) writing activities of students in a first-grade Spanish-English bilingual classroom. Suggestions are provided for teachers interested in implementing and adapting the CWF model to their own writing classes.