Norwalk MLL staff report enrollment growth, assessment results and expanded family services

Norwalk Public Schools multilingual learner (MLL) staff reported a rise in MLL enrollment, school-level assessment gains and expanded family programming at the Board of Education MLL Curriculum Subcommittee meeting on Jan. 15, 2025.

The update presented at the NPS Family Center said the district currently identifies 2,723 multilingual learners — about 23% of the district’s total enrollment of 11,697 — and noted 20 pending registrations that staff said would raise total district enrollment to 11,717 once completed. "We currently also have 20 pending cases," Francis Saez, MLL department staff, said, explaining those students were awaiting vaccinations and medical documentation.

The presentation detailed the MLL population and language needs. Spanish was the first language for 90.5% of MLL students; Haitian Creole and Ukrainian were the next most common primary languages at 3.7% and 1.1% respectively (staff estimated roughly 30 Ukrainian students). Birthplace data staff highlighted showed a significant share of MLL students were U.S.-born but Spanish-speaking at home; Honduras (16.2%) and Guatemala (13.0%) were the next-most-common birthplaces noted.

Staff reviewed kindergarten registration and screening under a new state entry rule requiring students be 5 years old before the first day of school or complete a waiver process.…