Your independent guide to NYC public schools

In a city like ours, with so many immigrant families and tens of thousands of students who are themselves first-generation citizens or born overseas, English Language Learners have long comprised a sizeable fraction of the city's student body. Now, a national project published by Education Week characterizes the state of the nation (in state-by-state assessments) with regard to its immigrant, language-learning students, in the stupendously detailed Portraits of a Population, which readers can peruse for free via the EdWeek website.

For a home-town view of the challenges and satisfactions of working with 'newcomer' students, have a look here, for one teacher's experience -- and take your hat, beret, cloche, or watchcap OFF, in recognition of the effort, heart, and goodwill involved in knitting kids into the complicated American quilt.