[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-590881-105":59,"doc-detail-590881-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","supporting-ells-students-with-interrupted-formal-education-understanding-who-they-are","SUPPORTING ELLs - Students with Interrupted Formal Education - Understanding Who They Are","","Supporting ELLs with interrupted formal education (SIFE) are a challenging subset of recently arrived English language learners, often lacking first-language literacy, facing frequent academic skill gaps, and sometimes needing critical social and emotional support. The text explains their likely origins in the United States, defines characteristics that distinguish them from typical ELLs, and discusses why higher dropout risks may reflect inadequate support and barriers to enrollment. It emphasizes specialized programming and effective methods to help bridge gaps between prior learning and new academic expectations.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/supporting-ells-students-with-interrupted-formal-education-understanding-who-they-are/590881/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/supporting-ells-students-with-interrupted-formal-education-understanding-who-they-are/590881.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Stanford","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-09","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Who are students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) among English language learners?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"SIFE are recently arrived ELLs whose formal schooling has been interrupted. They often have limited first-language literacy, gaps in academic knowledge and skills, and may need social and emotional support.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Where do SIFE students in the United States most often come from?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"A high percentage come from Latin America, mainly Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Refugee children form the second highest group, followed by students from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What characteristics set SIFE apart from typical English language learners?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"SIFE may be overage for grade placement due to weak academic skills, lack literacy in their first language and/or English, be socially and psychologically isolated, and require approaches to help them catch up and compete academically.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},590881,1792070648,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":81,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":39,"preview_page_count":4},2336477552062,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","SUPPORTING ELLs  \nStudents with Interrupted Formal Education  \nUnderstanding Who They Are  \nAP PHOTO/JIM MONE  \nBy Brenda Custodio and Judith B. O’Loughlin  \nS  \ntudents with interrupted formal education, also known by the acronym SIFE, are a relatively small proportion of recently arrived English language learners (ELLs), probably somewhere between 10 and 20 percent.1 However,  \nthese students often represent the most challenging of our ELLs because of their limited first-language literacy skills, frequent gapsin academic knowledge and skills, and, sometimes, critical social and emotional needs. Also, many tend to arrive unaccompanied as teenagers, making their need to catch up academically even more urgent.  \nBrenda Custodio is an independent education consultant who prepares pre-service and in-service teachers at Ohio State University to work in second language classrooms, and is a former middle and high school English as a second language (ESL) teacher. Judith B. O’Loughlin is an independent education consultant, a former trainer of pre-service educators at New Jersey City University, and a former English, ESL, and special education teacher. This article is excerpted with permission from their book, Students with Interrupted Formal Education: Bridging Where They Are and What They Need. Copyright 2017, Corwin. All rights reserved.  \nEducators and other professionals who have the responsibility and privilege of getting to know these students, and who will be helping them to reach their full potential, need to have an understanding of where these students have been and why they may have certain gaps in their academic knowledge. Such an understanding will build empathy for these students, and it can also help classroom teachers discover the most effective methodologies and materials that will bridge the gap between what SIFE already know and can do, and what they will be expected to be able to do in their new academic setting. Since most ELLs spend the majority of their school day in mainstream classrooms, we hope that all teachers will see the value in knowing more about the background of their students and how their previous educational experiences (or lack thereof ) impact their ability to perform on a daily basis.  \nSo, who are these students, and where are they coming from? The highest percentage of SIFEin the United States comes from LatinAmerica, mainly Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Refugee children make up the second highest number, with students from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Other smaller groups are composed of immigrant children from countries where schools were poorly equipped, teachers were inadequately  \nAMERICAN EDUCATOR | SPRING 2020 9  \nStudents with interrupted education need specialized programming and assistance, above and beyond what is normally provided to ELLs.  \ntrained, or school was not accessible due to geography, economics, or religion.  \nCharacteristics of SIFE  \nWhat specifically defines students with interrupted formal education and sets them apart from a “typical” English language learner? One list created by researchers2 states that these students:  \n• Are overage for their grade-level placement due to their weak academic skills and limited or inadequate formal schooling;  \n• Have needs that traditional ESL (English as a second language) and bilingual programs can’t or don’t meet;  \n• Have low or sometimes even no literacy skills in their first language and/orin English, and have little academic content-area knowledge;  \n• Are socially and psychologically isolated from mainstream students;  \n• Need approaches and materials that will help them catch up to and compete with mainstream students; and  \n• Are at risk of failing or dropping out of traditional academic programs.  \nThe final bullet point, the higher dropout rate of SIFE, is especially disturbing. Richard Fry, of the Pew Research Center, estimates that about 70 percent of immigrants with interrupted schooling drop ","cbCaifPQvnwRjEW4","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifPQvnwRjEW4","pdf",202963,"English","# Characteristics of SIFE\n## Programming needs and dropout risk","[{\"question\":\"Who are students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) among English language learners?\",\"answer\":\"SIFE are recently arrived ELLs whose formal schooling has been interrupted. They often have limited first-language literacy, gaps in academic knowledge and skills, and may need social and emotional support.\"},{\"question\":\"Where do SIFE students in the United States most often come from?\",\"answer\":\"A high percentage come from Latin America, mainly Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Refugee children form the second highest group, followed by students from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.\"},{\"question\":\"What characteristics set SIFE apart from typical English language learners?\",\"answer\":\"SIFE may be overage for grade placement due to weak academic skills, lack literacy in their first language and/or English, be socially and psychologically isolated, and require approaches to help them catch up and compete academically.\"}]","SUPPORTING ELLs - Students with Interrupted Formal Education - Understanding Who They Are | PDF"]