ANSWER:

While the following partnerships are not solely targeted for Latino students, they provide services to a population that is significantly Latino:

• High school wellness centers
• Linkages to Learning Community School prevention/intervention programs in 23 elementary schools and 6 middle schools
• Regional Youth Services for schools with students and their families with the highest needs
• Excel Beyond the Bell after-school academic and enrichment program

The following is a list of strategic initiatives, activities, and programs implemented to eliminate barriers and increase student success for both Latino ESOL and non-ESOL students:

• Study Circles with school leadership teams and Spanish language Study Circles that help English-speaking staff and Spanish-speaking parents to identify institutional barriers and create Latino parent groups
• Focus groups with Latino parents
• ASK MCPS Call Center with a Spanish-speaking office assistance:
  • Spanish-speaking parent community coordinator or referred to ESOL
  • Hispanic Hotline calls
• Bilingual parent community coordinators support workshops in Spanish and interpretation at meetings and school events
• Parent community coordinators support schools and provide interpretation
• Bilingual instructional specialists in the Gaithersburg and Watkins Mill clusters provide information about resources, community services, and college information
• Provide staff support to the Latino Student Achievement Action Group (LSAAG)

In addition, MCPS collaborates with the following organizations as they seek resources through the request for proposal process to serve all students including many of whom are Latino:

• IDENTITY
• Mental Health Association
• City of Rockville
• YMCA
• Family Services, Inc.

ESOL—

In addition to the programs listed above, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) serves Latino students and their families through a variety of districtwide, school-based, and individual supports. The academic/instructional programs provide supports and benefits to Latino students identified as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). The following is a list of strategic initiatives, activities, and programs implemented to eliminate barriers and increase student success:

• English language development (ELD) teacher coaches provide professional learning opportunities to content teacher.
• ESOL instructional specialists provide Curriculum 2.0 support to classroom teachers and Staff through professional development specific to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and language acquisition as well as support for the implementation of the elementary and secondary systemwide literacy and mathematics programs.
• ESOL teachers provide English language development instruction using resources to teach academic English language to ESOL students that are aligned to the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) and Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
• ESOL parent outreach and counseling supports are assigned to 47 schools on a regularly scheduled basis. Of these schools, 24 also have Multidisciplinary Educational Training and Support (METS) programs that serve the neediest segment of the ESOL student population—those with interrupted formal education. Ninety-five percent of the students in the METS program are Spanish speakers and of those students, 92 percent are from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
• There are 6.0 FTE Spanish-speaking ESOL transition counselors and 9.5 FTE Spanish- speaking ESOL counselors who support the 24 schools with METS programs.
• There are 8.0 FTE Spanish-speaking ESOL parent community coordinators who support the 24 schools with METS programs.
• There are 29.0 FTE METS teachers.
• There are 20.9 FTE METS paraeducators.
• Information available to families in Spanish on the MCPS website and through social media has been greatly increased.