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College Station ISD presents bilingual and ESL annual evaluation; 145 students met reclassification criteria
Summary
District staff presented an annual evaluation of bilingual and ESL programs, reporting progress on TELPAS/TELPIS, increases in ESL teacher counts, and 145 student reclassifications while noting certification gaps requiring exceptions or waivers.
Speaker 3, the district's bilingual and ESL presenter, summarized the annual Bilingual Education and ESL evaluation at the Oct. 21 workshop, outlining program scope, student performance and staffing needs.
The presentation covered program structure (bilingual programs for pre-K through grade 6 and ESL for pre-K through 12), language representation (English dominant; Spanish second-most represented) and a notable enrollment shift: "the number of students in our bilingual program are closely approaching the number of students in our ESL program," Speaker 3 said.
On academic outcomes, Speaker 3 said reclassified emergent bilingual students in grades 3'through 8 showed satisfactory progress in three of four content areas and that reclassified students "are consistently meeting standard" on STAAR/End-of-Course exams, with English I and II remaining areas for further growth. The presenter reported a district total of "145 students meet reclassification criteria across all schools and all grade levels."
Staffing and budget details were highlighted. Speaker 3 said funding comes from the state bilingual education allotment, local budgets and federal funds. Staffing metrics cited included a need for 46 dual-language teacher positions of which 38 are fully certified; for ESL instruction, elementary teacher counts rose from 283 to 337 and secondary counts rose from 51 to 76. Speaker 3 said the district will file exceptions and waivers this year for some uncertified teachers and emphasized a "grow your own" pathway for teacher certification.
Board members asked for clearer enrollment numbers and for comparisons to prior years after a chart prompted questions from trustees. In response to a question about summer supports, Speaker 3 described the Summer Language Academy as a rebranded set of district summer programs (not remediation), required for pre-K and kindergarten emergent bilingual students and expanded to provide intensive English supports for newcomers at elementary and high-school levels.
Speaker 3 also referenced state rule changes related to program composition, saying a revision to Chapter 89 shifted two-way dual-language classrooms from a 50/50 composition to roughly a 2/3 ' 1/3 arrangement because of unit and cost constraints. The presenter said the district's fourth-grade cohort includes eight dual-language classrooms that will feed Oakwood next year.
The presentation concluded with next steps: evaluate resource effectiveness, expand the Summer Language Academy and develop an emergent bilingual family advisory committee. Speaker 3 invited board questions and provided the data snapshot ahead of the Nov. 1 submission deadline for required reporting.
