Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Board hears strategic-plan update: English learner growth, ACCESS testing and expansion of Newcomer (Empower) Academy
Summary
District leaders reported growth in multilingual enrollment, ongoing ACCESS testing, monthly strategic-plan monitoring and expansion of the Empower Newcomer program to support recently arrived English learners.
District leaders told the Birmingham City Schools board on Jan. 14 that the district’s population of multilingual families and English learners has grown substantially and that the strategic plan includes a measurable goal to raise English learner progress on the state ACCESS test to 50% by 2029.
Dr. Chapman and ESL leaders presented data showing multilingual families increased from roughly 1,600 when the current leadership arrived in 2021 to about 2,500, and active English learners grew from about 1,172 to 2,052. The presentation tied those enrollment trends to the district strategic plan’s academic priority and explained monthly progress monitoring and forthcoming public dashboards on the district website.
Assistant/Staff member Nancy Blanco (ESL and multilingual programs) outlined ACCESS…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
