Sacramento County is home to one of the most richly diverse education communities in the country. A data review conducted by the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) finds that of the 238,000 students who attend public schools in Sacramento County, 18 percent are English learners.
The data, compiled by local districts and reported to the California Department of Education as part of the 2009 Language Census and the annual California English Language Development Test results, were analyzed by SCOE's K-12 Curriculum and Intervention Department. The report serves as a resource for teachers and administrators throughout the county to provide a more accurate accounting of English learners.
"It is important to be aware of the composition of our student population as we work together to close the achievement gap, and ensure that our English learners achieve academic success and become proficient in the English language," said Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David W. Gordon.
The report finds that more than half of the English learners in Sacramento County speak Spanish as their primary language. The overall school population is linguistically diverse with students representing more than 55 language groups.
English learners attend schools in all 13 districts in the county and Sacramento is in the top nine counties for enrollment of English learning pupils in the state. The 2009 data show that there are more than 1.5 million English learners enrolled in California schools.