A half-million U.S. kids attend school in Mexico. Educators are working together across the border to help them learn (laschoolreport.com)

In recent years, an increasing number of U.S.-born students have enrolled in Mexican schools. About half a million now attend classes south of the border, and educators on both sides are pushing for greater collaboration to help meet those students’ unique needs — among them, gaining language skills, adjusting to different education levels, and adapting to new school cultures and structures.

American schools have long focused on accommodating English language learners, said Patricia Gándara, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and director of education at the University of California–Mexico Initiative. Schools in Mexico, however, haven’t historically had a large population of Spanish language learners.

To address these challenges, partnerships between the two countries have already begun. In June, for example, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson met with education officials in Mexico to improve educational opportunities for the students they share.

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