Del Valle ISD officials presented data and a set of program changes Wednesday aimed at improving English proficiency for emergent bilingual students, who now make up about 43% of the district’s enrollment.

The presentation, delivered by Dr. Katrina Bailey, chief of learning and leadership, with Dr. Yolanda Grijalva, director of the multilingual department, said the district serves students speaking 24 home languages and is “now up to over 11,800 students.” Bailey said emergent bilinguals’ performance on the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) and STAAR shows progress in some cohorts but “we’re not where we want our emergent bilingual students to be.”

Bailey described several planned changes: revising the language-allocation plan to increase early English-language development, strengthening Tier 1 instruction that integrates language objectives, providing high-quality instructional materials in both languages (so teachers are not translating materials themselves), expanding ongoing professional development, conducting fidelity checks on implementation, and increasing family engagement activities such as multilingual orientation nights and literacy workshops. Bailey said the district also will use regular data cycles to adjust instruction based on real-time feedback.

Dr. Grijalva and Bailey walked trustees through TELPAS composite results and longitudinal STAR outcomes. Bailey noted gains for some cohorts — “if you follow those same kids over to fifth grade, you see that they’re up to about 40%” at advanced/advanced-high on TELPAS for a cohort she had referenced — but she emphasized the uneven growth across elementary, middle and high school and the testing constraint that “once the students hit sixth grade, you can no longer test students in Spanish” because STAAR is administered in English starting in middle school.

Trustees asked about program metrics, timelines and compensation for bilingual-related roles. Vice President Ladesma Woodie pressed for clear checkpoints; Bailey said administrators are “constantly assessing” and holding one-on-ones with principals, and that data cycles and benchmarks will serve as accountability measures. Board members also raised stipend policies: staff said district stipends are tied to state bilingual certification; teachers who are bilingual-certified receive a stipend but those without certification currently do not. Administration described “grow your own” recruitment strategies, university partnerships and an ESL academy to support certification.

Bailey noted program successes to date, including that “100% of our students who took the AP Spanish exam passed that exam,” and said reclassification (students reaching Advanced High on TELPAS, meeting STAAR criteria and receiving a teacher recommendation) increased from 136 students in 2024 to 232 this year after logistical testing changes.

The district did not present a board vote on program changes Wednesday; presenters said many changes are new this school year and will take time to implement and monitor. Trustees asked for continued monthly reporting as Lone Star governance progress measures and for clarity about funding sources for materials and stipends.