As we approach the year anniversary of our Many Languages, One Future report release, and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, in this month’s A+ Answers, we highlight emerging multilingual students, students who make up a large amount of the growing number of Colorado students. These are students who speak a language other than English and are learning English through targeted services in public schools.
As a state, we invest over $56 million annually in supporting these students, yet relatively little is known about which systems are best serving them. Here is what we do know:
- 14% of CO students are emerging multilingual students
- 66% of these students are in Metro Denver,
- 81% of these students qualify for free or reduced priced lunch.
- Spanish is the primary home language for 83% of Colorado’s emerging multilingual students, followed by Vietnamese (1.6%) and Arabic (1.6%).
Where are these students attending school?
Are students on-track to reach the next level of English Language Proficiency within the developmentally appropriate timeframe?
Which districts are best supporting students’ academic content mastery?
* A mean scale of 750 or higher means that most students are meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations
In which schools are emerging multilingual students making the most progress?
Interested in learning more about this growing population of students? Read A+ Colorado’s Many Languages, One Future report.