Years ago, I worked in classrooms and in after-school settings with refugee youth at a school that was established specifically for students newly arrived in the U.S. The teachers who founded the school in the Bronx promoted literacy as a means to help students succeed in their world. They were skilled and reflective practitioners. They designed project-based curricula that allowed students to draw on their personal backgrounds, and understood how to integrate language and content in ways that were engaging for adolescents. Yet as rich and thoughtful as the curriculum was, a subset of students challenged their competence. These Multilingual Learners (MLLs) were designated as Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE).