Dear English Learner Educator,                                                         

Welcome to a new school year! In Ohio, nearly 5% of our children and youth are multilingual learners for whom English is a second or additional language.

Each year, schools and districts administer the Ohio Language Usage Survey to all new students to identify English learners. This survey helps schools ensure that instruction is accessible for all students and understand the language preferences of families. Consider the following tips to effectively use the Language Usage Survey:

Understand the purposes of the Language Usage Survey

• Know the state definition of an English learner student.
• Review the Dear Colleague Letter published by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice to grasp the context and obligations for proper student identification.
• Find information about the state’s standardized identification process on the Identifying English learners webpage.

• Use the English Learner Toolkit, the Newcomer Toolkit, and the home languages of students as resources.

Improve English learner identification procedures

• Request the language usage surveys of new students who are transferring from other schools and send your students’ language usage surveys with them when they move.
• Review your school’s current policies for English learners. Update written procedures for administering the Language Usage Survey accordingly.
• Ensure staff understand and use the Language Usage Survey and Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener (OELPS) to plan instructional and assessment accommodations.
• Develop an orientation and training to help staff understand the district's steps to identify English learners and support multilingual families.

Communicate with families

• Ensure that parents and families understand the school’s enrollment process and their right to school communications in languages other than English. Provide interpreters to explain language usage surveys, parent notification letters, and parent-teacher meetings.
• Do not rely upon students or family members to communicate with parents with limited English proficiency. Consider ways to provide parent-friendly videos in English and languages other than English available on the website Parents2Partners.
• Notify parents of the student’s identification as an English learner within 30 days of the beginning of school. The parent notification letter must include description of the language supports and services that will be provided to the student.

Connect families with resources

• The NABU Website offers multilingual reading materials and stories for children and families, including bilingual books in multiple languages like Haitian Creole, Spanish, French, and English.
• Brain Pop ELL is an animated educational site with interactive language tests to gauge kids’ language skills and provide lessons in English, Spanish, and French.
• Reading Tips for Families has books and tips for parents and caregivers in English and additional languages, including American Sign Language.
• Project ASSETS Family Leadership Institute will conduct six weekly virtual meetings for families to share stories, gain information, and ask questions about way to support their children’s school attendance, literacy, and wellness. The Institute offers information flyers in English and Spanish. The meetings are live online and recorded for parents to listen at other times. Interpretation to other languages may be arranged in advance. Registration is available via this link.
• Family Engagement by Design is a free, virtual conference that boosts the work of schools and communities to build positive relationships with families. Learn more and enroll here.