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MPS outlines biliteracy, ESL and immersion supports as district expands language-aligned instruction
Summary
District officials told the committee that multilingual and immersion programs are aligned to the science of reading and include ESL itinerant hires, biliteracy unit frameworks, and assessments (STAMP/DELF) to measure proficiency; bilingual teachers asked for concrete biliteracy PD and clarity on implementation.
Milwaukee — The Milwaukee School District’s Department of Multilingual and Multicultural Education presented curriculum and program updates to the Student Achievement and School Innovation committee on Feb. 12, describing how district language programs will work alongside the new literacy materials.
Sarah Borges, curriculum specialist for English for Multilingual Learners, described English language development (ELD) as an integrated, interactive process embedded across content instruction. Borges said the district hired six itinerant ESL teachers to support schools that historically lacked ESL programming and that the ESL team contributes to K–12 literacy modules and professional development.
Alyssa Musa, First Nations Studies specialist, highlighted in‑school and after‑school supports for Native students, a curated First Nations studies library available to staff and a Reading Circle Book Club designed to center Native-authored texts.
Rocío Trejo, director of Multilingual and Multicultural Education, framed biliteracy as a combination of the science of reading, cross‑linguistic transfer and metalinguistic awareness. Trejo said K–5 bilingual classrooms will include daily word‑recognition instruction in each language and that middle‑grade biliteracy units will alternate the language of instruction every five weeks to support transfer.
World language immersion curriculum specialist Gonzalez reviewed planned assessments and alignment: the district administers STAMP (Spanish immersion) and is expanding STAMP administration to third grade; French immersion students take DELF performance exams; instruction is aligned to ACTFL and Common Core benchmarks.
Several bilingual teachers during public comment asked for more specific biliteracy PD, clearer guidance on how the science of reading will be adapted for multilingual learners, and flexibility for bilingual classrooms (for example, reducing mandatory weekly texts to allow deeper comprehension and language development). Administration acknowledged those requests and said the district will incorporate multilingual considerations into ongoing PD and coaching.
