Baltimore County is done making non-English-speaking families travel miles to the only in-person center that enrolls their students in language support services. Now, the center is driving to them.
The new Mobile Welcome Center looks like a bright blue school bus, parked every Tuesday at four different schools in east Baltimore County towns.
But inside, students take English proficiency tests to determine the level of support they need. And parents are connected with other resources, like healthcare and proof-of-residency documents, that they need to start school.
“It’s our job to help them jump through those hoops and get the kids enrolled and attending,” said Mark Anelli, the county’s English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) liaison.
“We notify the school that they’re receiving a student who’s going to be in need of ESOL services, we give [the family] information about where the school is located, what to bring when they get there,” Anelli said. “And we talk to them about the attendance and residency requirements that they’ll need to provide.”
Read more (and listen) at WYPR.
