Warrick County School Corp. details services for 523 multilingual learners; director highlights staffing, testing and supports
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Summary
Director of learning Jason Fisher told the board the district counted 523 multilingual learners on Oct. 1, about 5% of students, with 240 currently receiving E&L services; the district added three teachers of record and reports higher-than-state pass rates on certain assessments.
Jason Fisher, Warrick County School Corp.'s director of learning, told the school board the district counted "523" multilingual learners on Oct. 1 and that about 240 students currently receive English-as-a-new-language services.
"523. That is the official count of our multilingual learner population on Oct. 1," Fisher said, noting roughly 5% of the district's students are multilingual learners and that 43 non‑English languages are spoken in district homes. He said John H. Castle Elementary accounts for the largest share of E&L students (about 27% of the district's E&L population) and Castle High School about 20%.
Fisher described how the district identifies E&L students: a home language survey at initial enrollment triggers screening with the WIDA screener or WIDA ACCESS assessment. "If the cumulative score is 5 or greater, you're exited," he said, summarizing the state‑aligned exit criteria used in Warrick County.
Fisher said roughly 270 students qualify for services and that "about 30 to 35" students have opted out of E&L services, primarily in high school. He explained opt‑outs are parental choices that the district monitors annually.
On instruction and staffing, Fisher said Warrick County added three additional E&L teachers of record this year (some staff earned certification while remaining in dual roles) and that the district employs teachers of record plus teachers of service who support classroom instruction. He described models ranging from push‑in supports to supplemental software (Imagine Learning at elementary levels and Rosetta Stone at upper grades) and the use of aids and translation tools in classrooms.
Fisher shared assessment outcomes: the statewide average passing rate on the referenced IRE measure for E&L learners is about 40%, he said, and Warrick County's rate is 74.2%. For iLearn ELA (grades 3–8) he reported a district E&L passing rate of about 38.9% (state average 40%). For math he said Warrick County's E&L passing rate is 54.2% (state 42.1%). He emphasized growth measures: "over half of them met their growth target," he said.
Fisher also described the district's Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) process, timelines for implementing ILPs within 30 calendar days of the school year start, and the WIDA ACCESS test window (noted in board materials as Jan. 12–Feb. 27). He said EXIT and monitoring procedures place students above a WIDA cumulative score of 5 into a two‑year monitoring phase.
Board members asked follow‑up questions about parental opt‑outs, family supports and adult education. Fisher confirmed the district submitted its Title III application and received full allocation for the year and noted some adult education courses continue to be offered at WPCC in the evenings; he said he did not have district figures on parental participation in those classes.
The presentation closed after board questions; Dr. Abby Redmond thanked Fisher and acknowledged recent professional development for E&L staff provided by the Indiana Department of Education Title III division.
