The term “Multilingual Learners” is used by Denver Public Schools to indicate that a student speaks more than one language, including a language other than English at home. McMeen uses this same terminology. We use the terms Multilingual Learner (MLL) to refer to students in this category and Multilingual Education (MLE) to refer to instruction specifically geared towards supporting these students with their English acquisition.
Multilingual students can apply for and win the Pathways to the Seal of Biliteracy award at the end of the school year. Any student who is developing their literacy in two or more languages is eligible, not just students with the Multilingual Learner designation. The award is intended to signal that the student is on their way to earning the Seal of Biliteracy when they graduate from 12th Grade in DPS. You can learn more about the Seal of Biliteracy here.
At McMeen, we aim to celebrate students who demonstrate they are developing literacy in two or more languages. To support students with developing their biliteracy, we have created these monthly menus in all 8 consent decree languages. Families can use these menus to work on biliteracy with students at home and develop a portfolio of work showing their progress over the year.
If you are interested in learning more about the Seal of Biliteracy and how you can get involved, please reach out to your child’s teacher.
Many of our students come from Arabic speaking countries. To support these students, we have a full-time Arabic speaking paraprofessional who works with students within their classroom, providing native language support while our students are accessing grade-level content in English.
Our ELA-PAC is the organization in charge of communication between parents and the school regarding English Language Acquisition programming. All ELA Program schools must have an ELA-PAC, according to a court-ordered consent decree. At McMeen, our PAC meets 4 times per year to discuss things impacting our Multilingual Learners and gather input and ideas from parents.