Charles County reports flat multilingual enrollment, seeks to sustain Title III supports
Summary
District staff told the board the English Language Development program is stable (1,242 active ML students) even as statewide ML enrollment falls; staff outlined Title III-funded supports, a recent federal grant withdrawal, and plans to add curriculum and hold some grant-funded programs locally.
Autumn Hoffman, the district—s ELD content lead, briefed the Board of Education on Dec. 9 about the status of multilingual learners and ELD services.
Hoffman said the Oct. 30 state snapshot showed 1,242 active multilingual learners (MLs) — pupils currently meeting with an ELD teacher — plus 201 students whose parents have waived weekly direct services and 232 students reclassified (exited) from ELD in the last two years. She noted that statewide ML counts have fallen by roughly 5,000 students while Charles County—s ML population has remained relatively flat.
Hoffman reviewed current grant-funded activities that support ML achievement: Learning A–Z for leveled text, Imagine Learning as a tier-2 literacy tool for elementary MLs, bilingual family outreach, an expanding Hispanic Parent Advocacy Group and ELD family nights. She also said the U.S. Department of Education withdrew one planned grant (Fostering Diverse Schools) before it could be spent, leaving about $80,000 in unspent funds previously expected to be used this school year.
District staff explained that Title III funds are supplemental by federal rules and that the district is exploring options to extend existing grant-funded programs for an additional year and to request local budget support for sustained services. Hoffman said the district is implementing a new K–12 curriculum for ELD and that John Hanson Middle School piloted the program with a notably high exit rate (about 20 percent at Hanson, compared with a lower county average), attributing success to strong administrative support and integrated planning.
Board members asked about how students are identified (the district uses a three-question language background survey and the WIDA screener for eligibility) and about how exiting rates can be influenced by the composition of newcomer cohorts. Hoffman explained that cohorts with many newcomers at low proficiency will depress exit percentages even when instruction is effective.
Hoffman asked the board to be mindful that federal Title III funding was not included in the FY27 federal proposal and described steps to request local budget coverage for critical supplemental supports if federal funding is reduced.
