Northborough outlines multilingual learners changes after DESE updates language survey and access testing

Salvi Loyola, Northborough’s director of multilingual learners, presented the district’s multilingual program and described recent updates from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) that affect identification and services.

Loyola said the state replaced the old "home language survey" with a broader "language survey" and introduced a DESE rubric tied to the new form; the district has already incorporated the new survey into PowerSchool enrollment. He explained access-testing changes — a redesigned ACCESS test aligned to updated SEI/ELD frameworks — and emphasized this year will be a learning year as districts and educators adapt to the new assessments.

Loyola reported district counts and screening outcomes: "We are currently serving 129 English learners and 69 former English learners," and between July and December the district processed about 82 language-survey cases, of which 46 qualified as English learners, 7 were classified as former English learners and 39 did not qualify. He described the district’s plan for staffing and intervention (foundational levels receive more weekly ESL hours than developing/bridging students) and noted work on an interpreter-grant to strengthen tiered interpreter services for family communications and IEP support.

The director also highlighted outreach work with the recreation department to share translated resources and encouraged continued collaboration on family engagement. Committee members asked about AI in translation and Loyola said human review remains necessary for high-stakes communications.