Lincoln Public Schools details Welcome Center intake, bilingual‑liaison and family programs for newcomers

Lincoln Public Schools staff on a district learning lunch outlined how the Welcome Center, bilingual liaisons and family‑focused programs connect newly arrived students and families with school services. Laura Salem, supervisor for the English Learner Program, said the Federal Programs Department’s mission is “to empower students and families, embrace diversity, and to connect home, school, and community.”

Salem described the intake process at the Welcome Center: families who indicate a language other than English on the online home‑language survey required by Nebraska’s Rule 15 are referred for a parent interview and a language‑proficiency assessment that measures listening, speaking, reading and writing; secondary students also take a math proficiency screening. "Parents have that choice," Salem said, explaining that families can opt their children out of EL services but remain connected to supports through teacher‑leader partnerships and regular check‑ins.

Why it matters: the district reported 3,484 students currently served in the EL program and 264 students whose parents have opted them out; the ELPA spring assessment (levels 1–5) is used to track progress and exit students when they reach state‑proficiency criteria. Salem said the district employs 129 EL teachers, is hiring 39 EL paraprofessionals and has five EL teacher leaders who help general‑education teachers adapt curriculum and classroom instruction.

Bilingual‑liaison network and partnering agencies: Oscar Rios Paje, cultural specialist and bilingual‑liaison coordinator, said the district maintains a multi‑language liaison team to act as a conduit between schools, families and community partners. “Lincoln has become the second city in the nation to receive a 4 star welcoming certification,” Rios Paje said, and he credited local resettlement partners — Lutheran Family Services, Catholic Social Services and the Refugee Empowerment Center — for helping families connect to the Welcome Center. He described liaison coverage for languages including Spanish, Arabic, Kurdish, Vietnamese, Karen, Pashto and Ukrainian and said around 30 bilingual liaisons work across the district.

Family Literacy and Migrant Education: Monica Asher, presenting on the Family Literacy program and Title I, Part C Migrant Education, said Family Literacy follows a four‑component model (adult English classes; children's education with childcare; parent‑child classroom time called ‘pack time’; and weekly community/school sessions). "We have 116 parents that are enrolled, 49 children in childcare, and we're serving 16 different languages," Asher said. She also explained that the Migrant Education project will move to a regional model under Educational Service Unit 18 to serve 14 counties and 42 districts and described how a recruiter (Gabriela Granados) interviews families who indicate migrant status to determine eligibility.

Student supports and mental‑health programs: Raya Azuhaer, the district’s American Family Engagement Specialist, described orientations, home visits and community‑based events to connect families to school resources and noted a district effort called STRONG (Supporting Transition Resilience for Newcomer Groups) that creates group supports to reduce psychological distress and build resilience among newcomers. Raya said those groups have separate curricula for elementary and secondary students and that clinicians and social workers receive training to coordinate the intervention.

Questions from attendees focused on supports for students whose parents opt them out of EL services, how migrant referrals are identified at intake, and whether recent immigration enforcement had changed the district’s approach. Salem and Rios Paje said the district increases outreach and mental‑health coordination during times of uncertainty and that bilingual liaisons continue to serve families even when students are not directly enrolled in EL classes.

The district invited attendees to an open house at the Welcome Center that afternoon (enter on the north side of the Meadowlane Shopping Center). Salem closed by thanking staff and community partners for their work welcoming newcomer students and families.