Multilingual Learners Department
A message from the Director of the Multilingual Learners Department
Translated to Un Mensaje en Español& an Arabic Message
Welcome to Santee School District!
The Multilingual Learners Department provides ongoing instructional and assessment support to our multilingual learners along with their families and teachers. Our goal is to help students develop fluency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, to promote cross-cultural understanding and equal opportunity for academic achievement.
Newly-enrolled students who are identified as having a home language other than English are assessed to determine their English language proficiency. That assessment (Initial ELPAC) is then used to determine the student’s placement in either a Sheltered English Immersion program or an English Language Mainstream classroom. Students identified as English Learners are then provided with English Language Development instruction throughout each school day, monitored and supported along the way. Each year in the spring, English Learner students are assessed again (with the Summative ELPAC) to determine their progress toward fluency in English. Once the student has reached fluency, they can be reclassified as Fluent English Proficient, and celebrated for their accomplishment!
We welcome and encourage parents to become involved in their child’s classroom. If an interpreter is needed to help support conferences, please call 619.258.2343. We will be happy to help arrange for assistance. Parent involvement is also encouraged on school sites’ English Learner Advisory Committees (ELAC) and on the District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC). Information about these groups and other opportunities are available at your school site office or by contacting our department.
We look forward to working with you in supporting each and every student to reach their full potential.