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CCSD reports growth among multilingual learners — 7,000 students served and targeted supports expanded
Summary
A district presentation showed a 46% increase in multilingual learners (now over 7,000, including more than 2,500 newcomers), year‑over‑year gains on the WIDA ACCESS assessment, and expanded supports including co‑teaching, translanguaging and nearly $12.4 million in WSF allocations to support multilingual services.
District leaders presented WIDA ACCESS growth and proficiency data on March 23, saying multilingual learners have grown substantially in Charleston County and that the district is scaling supports to meet student needs.
A presenter summarized progress: multilingual‑learner enrollment in CCSD has grown by 46% over the years covered in the presentation, to more than 7,000 students districtwide; of those, staff said, roughly 2,500 are newcomers who have been in the country fewer than three years. The district noted that acquiring academic English often takes five to seven years for novice students.
District staff reported measurable year‑over‑year gains: a 4.1 percentage‑point increase corresponding to approximately 417 students meeting their growth targets, and a 2.4 percentage‑point gain corresponding to about 211 additional students reaching proficiency on the ACCESS assessment. Dr. Rush (multilingual‑learner leadership) and others highlighted strategies including co‑teaching models, translanguaging approaches that allow use of native language while producing English output, and partnerships to provide tuition‑free certification for teachers.
Finance staff said the pseudo‑weighted student funding (WSF) allocation supporting multilingual learners is nearly $12.4 million, reflecting about a $3.0 million expansion via reallocated and new FY27 funds. Trustees asked for school‑level breakdowns and further details about interventions for students not yet meeting targets; staff agreed to provide school‑level and newcomer‑focused breakdowns.
What happens next: Staff said assessment results will continue arriving in May and that they will provide requested school‑level breakdowns and details on interventions for the remaining students not yet meeting targets.
