Language should build bridges, not barriers.
We’re creating equitable communities for English learners in Massachusetts public schools so that academic achievement and post-secondary educational attainment are the norm, not the exception.
The mission of the Massachusetts English Learner Community Foundation is to raise English learners’ academic outcomes, postsecondary opportunities, and success, by providing academic support, college access, and mentoring in Massachusetts public schools.
Our work is crucial.
The number of EL students in Massachusetts has increased significantly since 2010. In 2010, 54,988 ELs attended public elementary and secondary schools in Massachusetts, representing 5.6% of public school student enrollment. By 2020, the number of ELs had increased to 92,076, representing 10.2% of the total student enrollment of K-12 public school students in the Commonwealth (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2020).
In 2024, the EL dropout rate was 16 %, over five times the percentage of their white peers. The EL four-year graduation rate, meaning students who begin as freshmen in their respective high schools, was 67% in 2024. Compared to the overall graduation rate for all Massachusetts high school students, EL graduation rates were approximately twenty percentage points behind their academic peers (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) website).
Our plan for growth is ambitious.
Developing district partnerships and effective K-12 programming will require strong design, implementation, and staffing. We are launching our partnerships and program support by partnering with targeted school districts in Greater Boston.
Defining the model, determining the level of staffing required, and achieving operational excellence will take time, but program support in targeted school districts will quickly reveal gaps that need filling and strength areas that can be replicated as we bring program partnerships to more districts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and nationally.
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