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. Centralized registration recorded 735 incoming kindergarten registrations; 205 of those students were under the Sept. 1 cutoff and completed the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) to provide developmental data to schools. In addition, staff reported 304 incoming kindergarten students had the district's initial English-language screener (pre-LAS), and 205 of those qualified for English as a second language services.

Francis Saez and Taylor De Silva described the annual LAS Links assessment for MLL students, which measures speaking, listening, reading and writing. The LAS Links testing window runs from Jan. 2 through March 7; staff said the district will assess each identified MLL annually until the student reaches proficiency. "For them to meet proficiency, they must have an overall score of 4 or 5 overall, but they must also score a 4 or a 5 in the reading and writing component," Saez said.

Staff presented last year’s assessment highlights and school-level gains. They reported 128 MLL scholars met proficiency on the previous LAS Links administration, and they named multiple schools that exceeded state averages for oral progress (speaking and listening) and literacy progress (reading and writing). Staff singled out Rowayton Elementary School for oral growth (72.4% of target achieved) and Marvin Elementary School for literacy progress (82.3% of target achieved), and noted West Rocks, Brookside, Wolf Pit and Silvermine also surpassed state averages in both oral and literacy measures. West Rocks, staff said, had the largest single-school count of students meeting proficiency (22 scholars).

Staff emphasized cross-school professional learning and peer visits as a mechanism to spread effective practices. Taylor De Silva described district learning walks, cross-visitation and a professional learning community that allows teachers from higher-performing schools to demonstrate strategies to peers. "Marvin also is in a professional learning community with other schools, and they get to do cross visitation," De Silva said.

The district has provided targeted professional development and materials to support MLL instruction, including summer new-teacher orientation, LAS Links training and school-specific PD (co-teaching, QTEL strategies and data dives). Staff said the district contracted with two intervention vendors for literacy support: Heggerty (Spanish phonemic awareness) for early grades and HD Word for grades 3–12. Those materials and trainings are funded through the district’s bilingual grants and are intended for use in SRBI or small-group instruction.

The Family Center’s outreach and events were also highlighted. Staff described conversational Spanish classes for families and employees, a school-supply backpack distribution that delivered 428 backpacks, a Halloween drive with 458 participants, a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway distributing 104 meals, a coat drive distributing 30 coats, and a holiday read-aloud and toy drive that matched 119 scholars with sponsored gifts. Staff said event participation and volunteerism (29 volunteers referenced for holiday events) have grown over time. "They were very thankful," said Saez of families who attended the turkey giveaway.

Board members praised the work; Colin Hostin said the district’s outreach makes scholars “feel welcome, embraced and supported.” Sherry McCready Pritchett and other board members also thanked staff for the Family Center’s programs and volunteer effort.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of minutes from the previous meeting — approved (no roll call recorded; outcome stated in meeting). - Motion to adjourn — approved (meeting adjourned following motion).

The subcommittee’s update combined enrollment and assessment data, school-level results, professional development activity, vendor-supported literacy interventions, and an expanded calendar of family events at the NPS Family Center. Staff said LAS Links testing and kindergarten screening will continue through March, and they described ongoing school visits and coaching to sustain instructional improvements.