Our greatest asset is the rich diversity of our students and families in Camas schools. Our multilingual students come from all over the world and speak over 45 different languages. We encourage our multilingual students to develop their home language skills while developing strong English proficiency and academic skills.

 A “Multilingual learner” is a student who is in the process of acquiring English and whose current proficiency level in English may qualify them for supplemental services through the State Transitional Bilingual Program. 

The multilingual program at Camas School District fosters collaborative learning experiences for all multilingual learners, placing a strong emphasis on supported classroom instruction and English language development. Through these approaches, students’ language and skill development are obtained in an appropriate time frame, equipping them to achieve academic success. 

For students who qualify for services, the Multilingual Program is committed to:

• Supporting access to instructional activities and assessments in the classroom 

• Providing for English Language Development based on individual language need

• Engaging and Communicating with families

Qualifying for Multilingual Services

All students who register in the Camas School District are asked to identify their primary language on the Home Language Survey. Students may be required to take the WIDA (World-class  Instructional Design and Assessment) Screener from this information. This screener measures the student’s skills in the four domains of language: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Receiving Multilingual Services

Not all language learners have the same linguistic, academic, or social-emotional needs. Therefore, support is differentiated based on individual student needs. 

K-12 Multilingual students are supported in their content classrooms by teachers who integrate language development through differentiation and supportive techniques to address each student’s needs. For those students who have additional language needs, the building’s ML Specialist, many of whom are multilingual, provides additional support either in the classroom or in lesson and activity planning. ML specialists are specially trained to collaborate with teachers to provide students with instructional activities specifically created to support language within content areas.