Roles & Responsibilities of Those Who Serve MLs

Individuals serving in the following roles have significant responsibilities related to MLP implementation:   

• DMS Executive Director

• DMS Compliance Coordinator

• DMS Instructional Coaches

• DMS Bilingual Parent Advocates

• Multilingual Learner Program Specialists (MLPS) (School-based)

• Bilingual Secretaries

• School Administrators

• School Counselors

• School Content Area Teachers

• School Data Specialists

• School Secretaries, Nurses, and Cafeteria Workers 

• Office of Translation & Interpretation Services (OTIS)

DMS Executive Director

The DMS Executive Director coordinates the K -12 ML Program and manages all major program projects.  The Executive Director assists school leaders and teachers in understanding and carrying out the legal requirements of the ML program. Additionally, the Executive Director is responsible for supporting teachers and school leaders to ensure all identified MLs receive appropriate services.  

The DMS Executive Director works closely with a team of Multilingual Learner Program Specialists (MLPS) to implement curriculum based on WIDA standards.  The Executive Director supervises the DMS compliance coordinator, instructional coaches, bilingual parent advocates, and departmental technician.

The Executive Director collaborates with content specialists to provide appropriate ML accommodations for their curricular areas. The Executive Director collects and analyzes significant data on student achievement to inform decisions about current and future needs of the ML Program.  Additionally, the Executive Director tracks data to monitor progress and prepare reports on student progress and academic initiatives.

The Executive Director also provides sustained professional development opportunities for MLPS and content area teachers.  The Executive Director assists with the coordination of courses for the district in partnership with other programs including USC Aiken to provide the opportunity for educators to obtain their ESOL Endorsement. The Executive Director also collaborates with other CCSD programs that offer Spanish for Educators professional development for CCSD personnel and Adult English classes for parents.  

The Executive Director communicates with the State Department of Education on a regular basis to receive updated information about MLP requirements and to ensure timely and accurate implementation of all federal and state initiatives. The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing the Title III grant and federal, state, and district monies available to support the ML Program. The Executive Director works closely with parents, teachers, building administrators, school counselors, central staff, and other school personnel to support the ML program implementation. 

DMS Compliance Coordinator

The Compliance Coordinator assists the Executive Director in coordinating the K -12 ML Program and some major program projects.  The Compliance Coordinator assists school leaders and teachers in understanding and carrying out the legal requirements of the ML program. Additionally, the Compliance Coordinator is responsible for ensuring all MLs are identified.  

The Compliance Coordinator works closely with MLPSs, data specialists, content teachers, building administrators, school counselors, central staff, and other school personnel to support the ML program implementation. The Compliance Coordinator provides continuous support and professional development opportunities regarding state and federal compliance. The Compliance Coordinator writes the Title III grant to finance program initiatives and manages federal and state monies available to support the ML Program.

The Compliance Coordinator collects and analyzes significant data on student reports to assist the Executive Director in making informed decisions about the current and future needs of the ML Program.  

The Compliance Coordinator communicates with the State Department of Education on a regular basis to receive updated information about MLP requirements and to ensure timely and accurate implementation of all federal and state initiatives. 

DMS Instructional Coaches

There are two DMS Instructional Coaches who support the district. They assist MLPSs with instruction and compliance. They assist the Director with programming. They also provide professional development opportunities for all district and school-based staff throughout the year. 

DMS Bilingual Parent Advocates 

DMS bilingual parent advocates provide support and leadership for many areas of the ML Program.  They serve as liaisons to all schools with MLs and work with families in a holistic fashion to support education, social services, health and nutrition, and family issues. Additionally, they advocate for parents in accessing resources and support services. 

One of the goals of bilingual parent advocates is to involve parents in the classroom in meaningful ways to highlight the importance of parents as the primary influence on their child's education and development. They seek to improve parent involvement and/or awareness through regular communication, parent meetings, parent conferences, and home visits.  They maintain close partnerships within the community so that they can make appropriate referrals to help parents connect with available resources and address the family’s needs.

To request support from the bilingual parent advocates, please complete the google form.

Multilingual Learner Program Specialists (MLPS) (School-based)

Most schools with MLs have a MLPS who works with them on a regular basis.  The MLPS may be full-time or part-time and may be itinerant.  All MLPS are certified teachers. All MLPS must have a state certification in English as a Second Language  and/or be working towards appropriate state-level certification. 

The MLPS is responsible for providing English instruction to MLs through a variety of best-practices appropriate to the MLs’ language proficiency level, advocating for the students as necessary, and making themselves available as a resource to other school personnel.  

Wherever possible, MLPS will make an effort to participate in school-based responsibilities.  These duties will vary based upon the amount of time assigned to the school, but may include:

• Special Events / PTA meetings

• Faculty Meetings

• Morning/Afternoon Duty (no more than 40 minutes a day)

• Enforcement of and adherence to school rules

In the event that schools serve their students in a virtual environment, the MLPS will consult with administration and the students' core content area teacher(s) to determine the best way to serve the MLs at that school. The MLPS will provide frequent updates to school staff, as well as the DMS Executive Directors, about any obstacles or successes in delivering ML service in an alternative method.

Bilingual Secretaries

The Office of Translation and Interpretation Services provides bilingual secretarial support to designated schools in order to assist as front office staff. They are assigned to schools with the highest number of MLs. They may be assigned to multiple schools.

Their primary role is to provide interpretation and translation support for our schools to effectively communicate with their Spanish-speaking families. Their duties may include participating in conferences, answering phone calls, welcoming multilingual family members, or performing other clerical tasks that are expected of a front office staff member.  They may also be responsible for documenting parent requests for translation/interpretation.

School Administrators

Each principal is responsible for ensuring that MLs in her/his school receive an equal opportunity for education, both by receiving appropriate MLP services and by requiring appropriate accommodations in the regular classroom for all MLs. This includes ensuring that content area teachers understand the WIDA standards and are delivering instruction grounded in best practice and following the Key Language Uses. The principal is responsible for collaborating with MLPS, school counselors, and the district DMS Executive Director or Compliance Coordinator, if needed, about the proper placement of students.  Principals should monitor MLs’ grades to ensure that no student receives a failing grade based on language proficiency. The principal is also responsible for ensuring content area teachers are informed of the legal and procedural guidelines for working with MLs.  

The principal must make certain that contact with parents and students is made in a language they can understand.  The principal will assign a school-based Language Access Liaison that is responsible for ensuring that parents and students receive communication in a manner that is comprehensible to them and in the language requested on the Enrollment Survey. The Language Access Liaison will make translation and interpretation requests for their school as well as train all school staff working with MLs on the resources available for communicating with multilingual families. Please contact the Office of Translation and Interpretation Services for more information.

School Counselors

The school counselors' are responsible for ensuring that MLs have schedules that allow them to receive English Language Development (ELD) services, that educational decisions are appropriate for the student’s level of English proficiency, and that appropriate accommodations are available for any standardized testing in which they participate. If the guidance counselor is not the school test coordinator (STC), it is the responsibility of the STC to ensure that all testing accommodations are made.  The STC and guidance counselor should work closely with the school’s MLPS to verify student needs. The guidance office must communicate with parents in a language they can understand and document that this has been done.  Guidance offices must understand and adhere to the federal requirement that students are placed age-appropriately. 

If students are enrolling in a middle or high school class for credit, it is important for guidance counselors to know English language fluency levels to ensure that students are enrolled in courses appropriate to their level of fluency.  If there has been a delay between English language testing and scheduling, changes may be necessary.  Anything that can be done to expedite testing and to use results to schedule students appropriately makes this process easier for all concerned. If MLP services are being offered at the high school for credit, the guidance counselor should contact the MLPS prior to scheduling classes for students.  Please refer to the interpreting and transcribing international transcripts section for further instructions.  Enrollment should not be delayed or denied due to the need to wait for transcripts.

Content/Grade-level Teachers

Content area teachers with MLs are responsible for making required instructional accommodations as outlined in the ILAP to meet the needs of their MLs.  Instruction must be accessible, even to students at a beginning level of proficiency. Content area teachers should understand the WIDA standards, how to utilize the Can-Do descriptors, and include MPIs in their daily lesson plans. It is the classroom teacher’s responsibility to assess MLs based on the appropriate instruction delivered and to ensure that MLs’ grades are not adversely affected on the basis of their language proficiency.  Accommodations should be well documented. MLs are a protected class of students and should rarely be retained; if they are retained, significant documentation must be provided.  Elementary, middle and high school teachers should be certain that a student has not failed a subject because of the inability to speak, read, write or understand English.

School Data Specialists

School Data Specialists are responsible for providing the HLS to the MLPS of any newly enrolled student if a language other than English is listed on the HLS section of the Enrollment Survey immediately upon enrollment. 

School Secretaries, Nurses, and Cafeteria Workers 

School secretaries, nurses, and cafeteria workers are responsible for communicating with parents in a language they can understand.  TransACT provides many documents in multiple languages. The Language Access Liaison at each school will make translation and interpretation requests for their school as well as train all school staff working with MLs on the resources available for communicating with multilingual families. Please contact the Office of Translation and Interpretation Services for more information.

In addition, school personnel who register students must ensure that every student who enrolls completes or has on file a Home Language Survey as part of the registration process.  Decisions about students’ eligibility for MLP services should only be made by MLPS after screening each student for language proficiency.  The fact that a student can “speak English fairly well” is not evidence of the academic language proficiency needed to succeed in a classroom.  When a child registers, if any other language is answered to questions 1-3 on the Home Language Survey (HLS), the child’s registration forms and HLS should be immediately given to the school’s MLPS.  Federal law mandates that these students be screened within 14 days of registration.

Office of Translation & Interpretation Services (OTIS)

The Office of Translation & Interpretation provides language support to assist in the communication of academic information between schools and parents to increase engagement in school activities and district-wide functions. This full range of language services are designed to help in CCSD's mission of providing a comprehensive educational experience to prepare our students for college, career, and life. 

OTIS offers a variety of translation & interpretation services that ensure meaningful language access for students and parents so they may have an active role in the student’s education. These services include: 

• Interpretation (Oral): For district-wide and school-wide functions, OTIS offers oral consecutive or simultaneous interpretation services into Spanish with the ability to provide services into other languages for district-wide events.
   

• Translation (Written): OTIS offers translation services of a wide variety of documents into Spanish through in-house staff. Translations are also available. Documents submitted for translation will be processed in the order received and the typical turn-around time is within 20 days although this may vary due to availability, the complexity of the document, and length.
   

• Over-the-phone Interpretation (OPI): OPI services are available in more than 240 languages through an over-the-phone interpreting service for simple matters not requiring an in-person interpreter. The service is available to anyone with CCSD credentials. Please contact OTIS at languagerequests@charleston.k12.sc.us for important information about this service.

Charleston County School District is committed to providing all parents/guardians of our Multilingual Learner students access to school-related essential information free of charge in a language that they can understand. All parents/guardians have a right to request interpretation and translation services using the following information:   

• Interpretation and/or translation services may be requested by emailing:  languagerequests@charleston.k12.sc.us or by calling 843-937-6359.