Dorchester SD2 outlines services for more than 3,000 multilingual learners

The Dorchester School District 2 board heard a detailed update May 11 on services for multilingual learners, including counts of students, staffing and how the district documents accommodations.

"We have over 3,000 students. We have 1,500 roughly that are actively served," said Susan Grensteiner, the district’s multilingual learner program coordinator, summarizing enrollment and service levels. She told trustees the district supports more than 60 languages and maintains individualized language acquisition plans in a central Elevation platform.

The presentation said the program employs 37 multilingual learner specialists who provide direct instruction, supports that range from pull‑out to push‑in models and a dedicated ML class period at the secondary level. Grensteiner said more than 700 students are being monitored after exiting services and more than 650 are fully exited from the program.

Nut graf: Trustees were given concrete figures about program scale and constraints as they consider budget allocations. The board asked how services start, how staffing is assigned and how federal funds can be used.

During questions, Grensteiner confirmed that services begin in kindergarten under federal and state rules and that some ML teachers are shared part‑time between schools while the district works to meet state‑recommended staffing ratios. "Right now they all do have a teacher. Some are not a full‑time and they might share with another school," she said.

Superintendent Dhy and staff also discussed funding limits. Trustees were told that Title III funds are restricted; they may be used for parent engagement, professional development or supplemental support but, per the district’s explanation, cannot be used for interpretation or translation required for legal communications. The superintendent described many ML tasks as an "unfunded mandate" that the district must support from general funds.

The presentation emphasized compliance and measurement: the district administers the annual English language proficiency assessment for actively served students and reports results on school report cards as part of accountability measures. Grensteiner and trustees also discussed growth trends — an upward trajectory with increased newcomer needs — and the program’s annual allocation requests to plan staffing and supports.

The board did not take formal action on the presentation; trustees were advised to consider ML needs during the upcoming budget cycle.