Portland school district outlines shift to integrated ELD to keep multilingual learners in core classes

Portland Public Schools presented an expanded plan for multilingual‑learner services to the Board of Education’s Teaching, Learning and Enrollment Committee on April 9, saying the district will emphasize integrated English‑language development (ELD) so students receive language supports inside grade‑level classes rather than being pulled out of instruction.

Senior director Joanna Tobin and director Will Flores told the committee the district serves about 4,100 active multilingual learners — roughly 10% of students — and that roughly half of those students speak Spanish at home. The district’s priorities include ensuring access to rigorous grade‑level content while providing language scaffolds, preventing students from becoming long‑term English learners and helping students exit services by about fifth grade where possible.

Tobin said the district groups multilingual services into four categories: newcomer programs (intensive, short‑term secondary supports), dual‑language immersion (DLI) programs, designated ELD for newer learners, and integrated ELD for students actively receiving services. Flores described integrated ELD as co‑teaching and embedded language objectives in content lessons so students ‘‘stay in the classroom’’ and get academic and language instruction simultaneously.

The presenters tied that approach to legal obligations and precedent, saying meaningful access to both language development and grade‑level instruction is rooted in the…