Vision:

The Learning and Language Acquisition (LLA) Department meets the individual needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students by providing equitable opportunities and advocating for every multilingual learner (ML) in every school.​

Mission:

The Learning and Language Acquisition Department empowers all multilingual learners (MLs) to be globally engaged by meeting their linguistic and academic needs within their socio-cultural contexts. We provide high-quality, rigorous, and engaging instructional support through research/evidence-based practices. We collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure equitable access that impacts achievement and opportunity gaps, so Multilingual Learners graduate college and career-ready.​

What We Do

The Learning and Language Acquisition Department offers guidance, resources, training, and support to help schools create equitable and supportive learning environments for all multilingual learners. In addition, we believe that nurturing home language skills helps students maintain connections with their family, culture, and community. As such, we assist students in acquiring English proficiency while encouraging their native language proficiency.

Who We Serve

The Learning and Language Acquisition Department serves all multilingual learners in CMS. The district has over 50,000 language minority students who have a language other than English as a first/native/home language. Of those language minority students, over 30,000 of them are multilingual learners (MLs) served by the LLA Department from K through 12th grade.

These students contribute to the rich linguistic diversity of our district, with more than 190 languages spoken from over 150 countries. Spanish is the most common home language among MLs in CMS, with other frequently spoken languages including Russian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, French, Portuguese, Telugu, Arabic, Hindi, Tamil, Mandarin, and Burmese.

See our ML Fast Facts sheet for more information and specific numbers.