ABSTRACT
It is well known that ethnic diversity in the United States has been on the rise for decades and that this trend is anticipated to continue in the upcoming years (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010a). As the number of individuals from diverse backgrounds increases, so does the number of U.S. residents who speak a language other than English in the home (Shin & Kominski, 2010). Naturally, students enrolled in the public school system in the United States reflect these demographic shifts. As such, our classrooms are more linguistically and culturally diverse than ever.
