Welcome!

What is our Goal?

We stive to meet the needs of our multilingual students by providing a range of supports, programs, and services to help students on the road to academic success, while also facilitating a feeling of belonging. Our goal is to help prepare our limited-English-proficient students to thrive in an English-speaking culture and in a multilingual, multicultural world.

Who Are Multilingual Learners?

Previously called English Language Learners (or ELL), we’ve adopted the term Multilingual Learners to align with OSPI’s more inclusive understanding of what a multilingual student is. While English Language Learner indicates that a student is learning English as a second language, Multilingual Learner recognizes and acknowledges that a student is growing in two (or more) languages. A multilingual student is not only learning a new language, but they are also gaining proficiency in listening, reading, speaking, and writing in a new language while trying to thrive in a new social environment, achieve standards in a new school system, and find their place in an unfamiliar new home.

How Are Multilingual Learners Identified?

During registration it is required for families to fill out the Home Language Survey (HLS). If the parent/guardian indicates a student’s native or primary home language is a language other than English, SKSD is required by law to screen that student for language acquisition support services. After screening, if the student qualifies, they will receive services throughout the school year to support language acquisition and be tested annually on the WIDA proficiency test (ACCESS) to monitor their growth. To learn more about WIDA, go to https://wida.wisc.edu/.

More on the Screener:

During the WIDA screener, the student will be tested in four language domains: Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing, by South Kitsap School District employees who have taken the WIDA training. Tests are scored by a District Assessment Coordinator, and all score reports are produced at the individual student level only (not school, district, or state). The scores are used to help determine which services to offer, and how much support is necessary, to facilitate language development.

More on the Annual Proficiency Assessment (WIDA ACCESS):

The ACCESS for ELLs is a summative English language proficiency assessment given to all MLL students in grades K-12. The purpose of ACCESS is to monitor students’ progress in learning academic English. Once proficiency is reached, a students’ academic progress is monitored for an additional 4 years. See below for dates and approximate testing timeframes. The ACCESS test is completed during your child's regular school day with their school's multilingual paraeducator or testing administrator.