Skip to main content

Schools

Popular Links

Multilingual Services

Multilingual Services

 

 

 

 

 

District 68 is a diverse community that welcomes, supports, and educates students from over 70 language backgrounds.  Our primary goals are to accelerate students' English language growth and to support students' access to the core content subject areas of math, science, and social studies.

 

We firmly believe that multilingual learners deserve support and access to high-quality instruction that boosts academic achievement, fosters language development, promotes social-emotional learning, and honors their heritage language and culture. 

A woman with long, wavy brown hair smiles at the camera.

Karina Luviano

Director of Multilingual Services

 

Contact

 

Multilingual Belief Statements

  • Equitable Access
    Ensure Multilingual Learners receive equitable access to grade-level content and resources that accelerate academic language development, aligned with WIDA Language Proficiency Standards.
  • Native Language Support
    Offer native language instruction tailored to individual student needs, promoting the development of bi-literacy skills.
  • Cultural Enrichment
    Create a multicultural environment that fosters high levels of multilingualism and appreciation for diverse cultures.
  • Community Engagement
    Enhance the community's perception of Multilingual Learners, their families, and the ML program by maintaining high expectations, delivering a rigorous curriculum, and ensuring consistent program implementation.
  • Advocacy and Identity
    Cultivate an environment that supports positive identity, self-confidence, and cultural pride among students.

Program Models

  • The Transitional Program of Instruction (TPI) is a mandated program to serve eligible students from low-incidence language backgrounds, as established by the Illinois Administrative Code Part 228. This program, which provides instruction in the English language using Sheltered English Instruction, offers support from kindergarten through eighth grade to help students succeed in academic subjects and learn English. 

  • The Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) program is a mandated program for eligible students of the same high-incidence language, as established by the Illinois Administrative Code Part 228. The program provides instruction in the student’s home language and helps students to succeed in academic subjects and learn English. It is offered at schools where there are 20 or more eligible students with the same language classification. 

    The TBE program is served by language resource teachers who offer home language instructional support in high-incidence languages such as Arabic, Spanish, and Urdu.

  • Language development progress reports will be provided to parents/guardians of students enrolled in multilingual programs in the same manner and with the same frequency as our general report cards. These reports outline the student’s progress within the multilingual program, which includes information on their English language proficiency in the four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. 

  • The Home Language Survey is required as part of the school registration process. If a language other than English is spoken by a child or is spoken in the home and is indicated by parents/guardians on the Home Language Survey, District 68 is required to screen the child for English language proficiency. 

     

    The Illinois School Board of Education (ISBE) prescribes the assessment instrument and the qualifying scores for eligibility for services. For students entering Grades K-8, the WIDA Screener is administered.

     

    Currently, the District’s top languages are Spanish, Urdu, Arabic, Assyrian, and Tagalog. Per state regulations, if an attendance center has 20 or more students who qualify for ML services and speak the same language, a district is mandated to establish a Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) program for those students. Further assessment determines what those services may look like in a district. Currently, D68 offers bilingual programs in Spanish, Urdu, and Arabic. 

    • WIDA-Screener - Used for initial assessment and placement of multilingual students. The WIDA Screener is an adaptive test that can gauge students' proficiency up to Level 6 of the WIDA ELP Standards.

     

    • ACCESS - All multilingual learners participate in the ACCESS test as required by the Illinois State Board of Education each year. The ACCESS assessment measures the English language proficiency levels of every student in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

  • Language development progress reports will be provided to parents/guardians of students enrolled in multilingual programs in the same manner and with the same frequency as our general report cards. These reports outline the student’s progress within the multilingual program, which includes information on their English language proficiency in the four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.