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San Mateo-Foster City trustees hear report on multilingual learner gains, staff warn of data limits
Summary
Ala Cruz, the district's executive director of multilingual learner services, told trustees that more than half of students are multilingual and reported rising reclassification and program participation, while staff cautioned that some assessment reporting (NWEA/NWA) is new and requires further cleaning.
At a San Mateo-Foster City School District study session, Ala Cruz, executive director of multilingual learner services, told trustees the district has seen measurable gains for multilingual students while rolling out a new district multilingual learner plan. Cruz said the work focuses on "significantly improving student outcomes" and emphasized programs and family engagement that staff say are beginning to show progress.
"Over 50% of our students in the entire district are considered... multilingual learners," Cruz said, and the district reported that nearly 58 different languages are spoken by students. Cruz said about 22% of those learners are newcomers, roughly 17% are at risk of becoming long-term English learners, and about 16% are already considered long-term English learners.
The district described several instructional and family-support strategies. Staff introduced a new middle-school ELD curriculum and three K' signature strategies, including a…
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