Big Hike In English Learners At LTHS

La Grange IL

11 November, 2021

2:03 PM

Description

LA GRANGE, IL — Lyons Township High School has seen a surge in students who are learning English as a second language, an official said this week. This year, 140 of the school's 4,000 students have been identified as English language learners. Of that number, 108 are Spanish speakers, while the others are speakers in 17 other languages, according to the school. In the last year, the school has seen an increase of 40 more English learners. In the few years before that, the number of such learners has ranged from 60 to 100, said Karen Raino, head of the school's language arts division. "That's a dramatic increase," Raino told the school board. "This is consistent with nationwide trends. The (English learner) population is growing in the United States and in certain states in particular. Illinois happens to be one of them." English learners make up about 4 percent of the school's enrollment. "What is interesting to me and the school is our number of former English learners is actually really high," Raino said. "We have about 450 students at one point in their education who have received (English learner) services, but they transferred out because they hit English language proficiency ... We have about 600 kids who come from really rich, multilingual backgrounds, and it's really something we should tap into. That's a gift and a strength."