Multilingual/English Learner Programs

The San Mateo Union High School District is proud to serve approximately 1,000 students currently classified as Multilingual Learners and an additional 2,000 students who were once Multilingual Learners. We value and celebrate the fact that approximately 30% of our students are bilingual and come from all over the world. We are committed to providing the most relevant and rigorous education we can to propel our Multilingual learners to college and career readiness. We do this through providing opportunities for professional learning and collaboration year round, making Multilingual Learner data accessible, and using data to inform our practices and policies. We understand that we need to continuously improve and hold Multilingual Learners as our collective responsibility, and anchor our work in this understanding. Our Multilingual Learner students and their families are assets to our district and provide all members of our community opportunities to learn and grow.

All Multilingual Learner students have access to courses to meet high school graduation requirements and prepare for post-secondary success. To increase English proficiency, Multilingual Learners also take designated English Language Development (ELD) through a Newcomer Program or in the Standard Program through Structured English Immersion (SEI). Students who have been in the United States for less than three years have access to the Newcomer Program. Multilingual Learner students who have been in the US for three or more years have access to SEI in the Standard Program. All Multilingual Learner students continue to receive ELD until they are reclassified as Fluent English Proficiency. In addition, students who have been reclassified are monitored for four years.

For more information, contact Joana Feit, Manager of Multilingual Learner Programs at 650-558-2233 or jfeit@smuhsd.org.