SERVING IMMIGRANTS & REFUGEES IN
MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Martha Swanson, Coordinator
New Families Center
Minneapolis Public Schools
[email protected]
[email protected]
WE ARE THE MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS’
FRONT DOOR FOR FAMILIES
All students are placed in school through one of our
placement centers:|
New Families Center
3345 Chicago Avenue
Minneapolis 55407
612-668-3700
34th St & Chicago Av
We are the warm & welcoming
primary intake center for EL families
Student Placement
1250 W Broadway
Minneapolis, 55411
612-668-1840
Broadway between
Fremont & Girard
WHAT IS THE NEW FAMILIES CENTER ABOUT?
 Our
mission/role: Identify & serve English
Learners
 Little distinction between immigrants and
refugees for our purposes
 Sensitive to the potential additional needs of
refugees
 Recognize the potential difficulty of families’
journeys and newness in the U.S.
 Treat ALL our families with kindness and
patience
NFC – FUNCTIONS & SERVICES
 Student
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Placement
We speak French, Hindi, Hmong, Lao, Oromo,
Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Urdu
Use interpreter service to help in ANY language
School choice guidance
Intake and placement for students age 4-21
Identify English Learners – place in appropriate
schools
Place “Regular” education students
Place Special Education students
Federal settings 1 & 2 -- 3 & 4
NFC – FUNCTIONS & SERVICES (CONT.)
 Health
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and Special Education Assessment
Oral heath questionnaire – follow up on any
concerns/issues
Help finding health, mental health, dental and
eye care
Help finding and signing up for medical
insurance
Connect parents to needed resources
Alert school to any health concerns
Home Visits with special education team
NFC – FUNCTIONS & SERVICES (CONT.)
 Social
Services Needs Assessment
Connect parents to services
 Enroll parents and children in Medical
Assistance and other medical insurance
programs

HEALTH SCREENING & OTHER SERVICES
2011
SCREENING CONTINUED…
2010
NEW FAMILIES CENTER INTAKE STEPS
1.
HLQ – Home Language Questionnaire
a. “HLOTE” – Home Language Other Than English?
b. HL = English, no assessment
c. If any language other than English, (not
necessarily ONLY language spoken at home!) we
are required by law to assess student’s English
proficiency
2.
WIDA / W-APT (WIDA-Access Placement Test)
a.
b.
Determines ESL eligibility
EL level determined
MDE HOME LANGUAGE QUESTIONNAIRE
[http://www.education.state.mn.us/MDE/JustParent/EngLearn/index.html]
The HLQ is embedded in all MPS intake and school
request forms on paper and online.
HLQ
HLOTE
WIDA English
assessment
given
EL=YES
EL= NO
• EL Status & level entered in SIS
• Test & results sent to receiving school
• Placed in school with ESL (& bilingual
staff when possible)
• Student’s English proficiency
reassessed annually until “exited”
• Exited and waived students monitored
1 year
HL= English
No English
assessment
Placed in school based on
address and capacity (as
with any non-EL student)
Change of status can always
be initiated by school
IF THEY COME FROM A WIDA CONSORTIUM MEMBER STATE:
www.wida.us
EL STATUS – POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
 Eligible
(for ESL services)
Determined by W-APT
 Student stays “eligible” until exited, or waived
or home language is changed by parent

 Ineligible
(for ESL services)
HLOTE student is assessed upon intake but
found proficient in English.
 The student’s school can always initiate a
“change of status” based on performance
and/or progress concerns

EL STATUS – POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
 Waived
–
 student with a HLOTE who is eligible for ESL
based on assessment
 Parent opts for the student not to receive ESL
services.
 Exited –
 Student who previously was eligible and
receiving services
 Has reached English proficiency based on
progress and annual assessment.
EL STATUS – POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
 Declined
Assessment –
Student with a HLOTE - parent declines
English assessment
 Important for schools to see this status if
there is a HLOTE but no assessment
 Students with this status should not be given
the annual assessment

WHO SERVES OUR STUDENTS?
 MPS
has a diverse group of over 240 staff
members who are bilingual and work to help
our students and families communicate each
day.
 Almost
200 staff members are dedicated to
directly serving our English Learners.
ELS & FAMILIES – MPS RESOURCES
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New Families Center
EL Family Outreach Liaisons (Multilingual Department)
CPEO (Connecting Parents to Educational Opportunities)
Family Resource Center Liaison staff
Area Meetings
Area & District Parent Advisory Councils
Multi-lingual info lines for news & updates
School Messenger
Bilingual Liaisons in Special Education department
ELS & FAMILIES – SCHOOL RESOURCES

EL Programs
Multilingual (ELL) Department
 ESL Teachers
 Bilingual Program Assistants
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Student and Family Supports
Check & Connect (High Schools)
 Bilingual Parent Liaisons
 Bilingual school office staff
 School Social Workers
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WHY DO WE ASSESS STUDENTS WITH A HLOTE

Federal law

State law

District policy

Right thing to do!
FEDERAL LAW 20 USC § 1703 (1974)
Denial of equal educational opportunity [is] prohibited
 No State shall deny equal educational opportunity to an
individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national
origin, by—
 (a) the deliberate segregation by an educational agency of
students on the basis of race, color, or national origin among or
within schools;
 …(f) the failure by an educational agency to take appropriate
action to overcome language barriers that impede equal
participation by its students in its instructional programs.

Source: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1703
MPS POLICY 6280:
BILINGUAL STUDENT EDUCATION: EQUITY AND QUALITY IN
EDUCATION
“The purpose of this policy is to establish
a process that ensures that students, whose
first language is not English, have
language learning opportunities,
comprehensible instruction and materials,
and academic choices within the
Minneapolis Public School system. It will
ensure equity in education for students
who speak a language other than English
by recognizing students’ native languages
as an asset to be built upon and
maintained for educational success. It also
is a framework for compliance with state
and federal law governing the education
of English Language Learners. “
MPS POLICY 6280:
BILINGUAL STUDENT EDUCATION:
EQUITY AND QUALITY IN EDUCATION
“The Board of Education supports
district programming and
curriculum that promotes the
accelerated academic
achievement of English Language
Learners, and recognizes the
important role played by
multilingualism in achieving
academic success and future
careers of Minneapolis Public
School students. “
Who are our Els in MPS?
MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS EL STUDENTS
27% of Minneapolis
Public School students
call a language other than
English their home
language. The top four
languages spoken, other
than English, are Spanish,
Somali, Hmong, and
Oromo. All together,
nearly 100 different
languages are spoken in
Minneapolis Public
Schools.
Home Languages of ELs in MPS:
MPS EL FACTS & STATISTICS
Almost 9,000 students are eligible for English Learner
(EL) services in Minneapolis Public Schools as of the
2014-15 school year. That's about 24% of registered K12 students, compared to eight percent of students
statewide who are eligible.
 As of Spring 2015, almost 4000 Minneapolis Public
Schools students were born outside the United States in
one of 114 different countries around the world.
Approximately 3% of all our English Learners as of 2014
are recent newcomers from another country.
 93% of all English Learners qualify for Free or Reduced
Lunch -- 57% of non-English Learners who qualify (as of
2013)

Source MPS MLD & MDE
MPS EL FACTS & STATISTICS CONT.
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
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English Learners are students whose first language is not
English. They can also be students who have difficulty with
English because they have grown up listening to another
language, or students born in the Unites States who first
spoke another language.
The service an English Learner receives depends on the
student’s English proficiency level, previous U.S. schooling
and time in the U.S., and current academic achievement level.
At each proficiency and grade level, the English learning
structure is tailored to students' needs.
Students' English language proficiency is assessed with the
WIDA ACCESS test. This assessment is given annually to
students in grades K-12 who have been identified as English
Learners to monitor their progress in acquiring academic
English. See the Assessment and Testing page for more
information.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ELS IN MN
 MN
ranks 15th nationally in language
diversity
 65,000
English Learner students enrolled
in MN schools representing 200 languages
 Grown
by 300% over last 2 decades
Source: MPR 12/13/2012
SCHOOL REQUEST/PLACEMENT TIMELINE
 Jan
31, 2015
 Feb 28, 2015
 Apr, 2015
 Apr 15, 2015
 May 5, 2015
 Aug24, 2015
 Sept 7, 2015
School Fair
Lottery Deadline, H5-12
Letters mailed
High 5 Deadline
Citywide Kg Registration
1st day of School
Labor Day - No School
Minneapolis
Zone (1,2,3)
Magnet schools
Attendance Areas
Community Schools
REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

For High 5 & Kindergarten:
Birth document (birth certificate, immigration document or
passport)
 Early Childhood Screening
 Immunization record

Grades 1-8: Same as above (except screening)
 Grade 9: Proof of completion of 8th grade
 High School: Same as for grades 1-8, plus transcripts for
entering grades 10 - 12
 K-12: In some cases, proof of address is required

SCHOOL SELECTION INFO ONLINE
MPS Website www.mpls.k12.mn.us
 MPS School Request Center (pre-K-8)
http://schoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us
 MPS High School Request Center
http://highschoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us
 School Websites http://schoolname.mpls.k12.mn.us
(example: http://lyndale.mpls.k12.mn.us)
 MPS Research Evaluation and Assessment Department
http://rea.mpls.k12.mn.us/
 Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)
http://education.state.mn.us

MORE INFORMATION…
 MPS
Strategic Plan
http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/strategic_plan
 MPS Multilingual Department Strategic Plan:
http://multilingual.mpls.k12.mn.us/uploads/ell_strategic
_plan_010412_3.pdf
 MPS Bilingual Education Policy:
http://policy.mpls.k12.mn.us/uploads/6280_policy.pdf
 Minnesota Department of Education
http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/JustParent/EngLearn/
Thank You
&
QUESTIONS?