MCPS outlines expanded professional learning for 32,000 emergent multilingual learners, board presses for more staffing

Tamara Hewlett, director of the Department of English Learners and Multilingual Education, told the Board of Education’s Committee on Special Populations that Montgomery County Public Schools is seeing rapid growth in its emergent multilingual learner population and has prioritized professional learning to improve outcomes.

Hewlett said MCPS recorded 32,841 EMLs on the district’s June 1 count and reported 32,587 as of Dec. 31, with roughly 1,000 additional students joining the program each year. She described WIDA ACCESS for ELLs proficiency bands (ELP 1–4) and explained that Maryland practice exits students from the ELD program at an overall score of 4.5. District data show large cohorts at beginning levels—more than 17,000 at early proficiency levels—and that growth often slows at ELP 3 and 4, driving the need for targeted, content‑embedded instruction (presentation; Tamara Hewlett).

Why it matters: The district’s scale—more than 32,000 EMLs—means that modest changes in staffing and training can affect large numbers of students. Hewlett argued that training must reach general education content teachers as well as ELD specialists…