Arlington Public Schools are becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse, with some three dozen languages estimated to be spoken in local homes, the Arlington School Committee was told.
English Language Learners Director Carla Bruzzese, an APS employee for nearly a dozen years, said that she and her staff keep “the whole child at the center” when helping students acquire English skills, and that teaching practices follow the APS vision, mission and strategic plans. This was during a presentation made April 13 to the School Committee.
“Our [ELL] enrollment is growing,” she said, and she noted that more ELL students at APS are U.S.-born than not.
The five non-English languages most prevalent in APS homes are Chinese, Haitian Creole, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish, she said.
About 5% ELL
She said that 295 students, or about 5 percent of the total APS enrollment,…
