🌎 Supporting Our Multilingual Learners 🌎

At Cogito Academy, we celebrate the languages, cultures, and experiences our Multilingual Learners (MLs) bring to our school community. MLs are students who are developing proficiency in English while also bringing the valuable strength of another language.

Students are first identified through the Home Language Survey completed when they initially enroll in a South Carolina school. When the survey indicates a language other than English, students may take a WIDA Screener to determine whether English language development services are needed.

Students who qualify receive language support designed to help them grow in English while continuing to learn grade-level content. Each student has an Individualized Language Acquisition Plan (ILAP) that documents the supports and accommodations that help them be successful.

Each year, MLs also participate in WIDA ACCESS, which measures their growth in English language proficiency and helps our school make decisions about continued services and support.

Our goal is simple: to help every multilingual learner grow in confidence, language, and academic success while celebrating multilingualism as a strength.

We're excited to partner with your family! Click the buttons below to learn more about our Multilingual Learner (ML) Program Policies & Procedures, explore WIDA Family Resources, and visit Colorín Colorado for helpful tips and resources you can use at home. Together, these resources will help you better understand your child's language learning journey, the support they receive at school, and simple ways you can help them continue building language and literacy skills at home.

Supporting Your Multilingual Learner at Home

At Cogito Academy, we believe children learn best when school and home work together. Families play an important role in helping children develop strong language, literacy, and communication skills. The best part is that supporting your child's learning doesn't require extra homework or even speaking English at home! Everyday conversations, stories, activities, and experiences can all help your child grow as a learner.

💙 Your Home Language Is a Superpower!

You do not need to speak English to help your child succeed in school. Speak, read, sing, tell stories, ask questions, and learn together in the language your family knows best. Building strong skills in your child's home language supports communication, strengthens family and cultural connections, and provides a strong foundation for learning English.

Keep speaking your home language. Keep sharing your stories. Keep learning together. Every language your child knows is something to celebrate! 🌎💙

💬 Talk, Talk, Talk!

Everyday conversations are one of the best ways to build language skills. Talk with your child in the language you are most comfortable using.

Try these simple ideas:

Ask your child about their day and encourage them to share details.
Ask your child to teach you something they learned at school.
Tell family stories and talk about special traditions or memories.
Ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer.
Talk about what you are doing while cooking, shopping, driving, or completing chores together.
Introduce new words naturally during conversations.
Encourage your child to ask questions and explain their thinking.
Play word games, sing songs, tell jokes, and share rhymes in your home language.

📚 Read Together in Any Language

Reading helps children build vocabulary, comprehension, background knowledge, and a love of learning. Reading in your home language is valuable! You do not have to read books in English for reading time to benefit your child.

You can support your child by:

Reading together every day in your home language, English, or both.
Visiting the library and letting your child choose books that interest them.
Looking at pictures and predicting what might happen next.
Asking your child to retell a story in their own words.
Talking about the characters, events, and new ideas in a book.
Listening to audiobooks or stories together.
Encouraging older children to read to younger siblings or family members.

✏️ Read, Write & Create

Children build language when they have meaningful reasons to communicate. Give your child opportunities to read, write, draw, create, and explain their ideas.

Try having your child:

Write grocery or to-do lists.
Draw pictures and add labels or sentences.
Write notes, cards, or messages to family members.
Keep a journal about things they enjoy.
Follow a recipe and talk about each step.
Read signs, menus, labels, or directions while you are out together.
Explain how to play a game, make something, or complete a task.

Your child can do these activities in their home language, in English, or using both languages!

🌎 Keep Your Home Language Strong

Knowing more than one language is something to celebrate! Continuing to develop your child's home language helps them communicate with family, maintain connections to their culture, and build important language and literacy skills.

Keep speaking the language that feels most natural for your family. Share songs, books, stories, traditions, and conversations in your home language. Encourage your child to be proud of all the languages they know and are learning.

💙 Every Little Moment Matters

Learning doesn't only happen in the classroom. A conversation at dinner, a bedtime story, a trip to the grocery store, cooking a family recipe, playing a game, or exploring your community can all become opportunities to build language and learning.

The most important thing you can do is talk, read, explore, and enjoy time together in the language your family knows best.

By keeping communication strong and celebrating your child's multilingualism, you are helping build the confidence and skills they need to thrive at school and beyond. 🌎💙