Giving Compass' Take:

• The 74 reports on the story of Ruben Alonzo and his mission to open Excelencia Charter Academy, a school that will support English language learners with an  innovative curriculum.

• How will this charter school idea be different from others? What are some potential road blocks with this mission?

• Read about the successful ESL program in the DC charter network.

Ruben Alonzo’s English learners in his Texas classroom were thriving. He believed in their potential the same way a teacher had once believed in him — a third-generation migrant worker who went on to MIT, Harvard, and Columbia University.

His students were two miles from the Mexican border in Rio Grande, at an independent charter school in the IDEA Public Schools network. Many were not proficient in English, but 98 percent passed their state algebra tests.

Because his life’s passion was to help students with similar backgrounds as his own, Alonzo’s wife, Cynthia, a California native, challenged him to bring his vision to even more students, where historically schools have been failing them.

“We both asked ourselves, ‘Where we can make the greatest impact?’ The answer was Los Angeles, East L.A., and we said, ‘Let’s go!’ ”

In August, Alonzo will open Excelencia Charter Academy. The independent charter elementary school will start with 120 seats for transitional kindergarten through first grade, with an innovative teaching model for English learners. It will grow to serve students through eighth grade.

“Excelencia takes that message and that vision that I want to share it with my students — 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds. When they’re going into first grade, I want them to have that vision that they are going to college, surrounded by adults in school that know that’s the goal,” Alonzo said.

Excelencia will offer a unique “regrouping” model where students, even in the earliest grades, are taught by teachers in different specialties, like in high schools. The two-teacher program is tailored to support English learners.

Read the full article about English language learners education by  Esmeralda Fabian Romero at The 74