Welcome Center for Multilingual Learners

Diana Dromsky, ESOL Coordinator, 843-322-5407
Carina Padgett, District Lead Bilingual Liaison, 843-322-5427
Melissa Garrastegui, Welcome Center Lead Bilingual Liaison, 843-694-1859
Susan Romero, ESOL Instructional Coach

Find answers to questions about enrollment, immunizations, proof of residency and more below.

AGE
Q. What age does a child start school in South Carolina?
A: In compliance with South Carolina law, students must be 5 years of age on or before September 1, to be considered for Kindergarten. More information is available on ourKindergarten Registration and Pre-K Screenings page.

School attendance is mandatory between the ages of 5 and 16 years of age.

Q: Is there a program available for 4-year-old children?
A: Yes, BCSD offers a pre-kindergarten program. This program is available for children who are 4-years-old on or before September 1, and meet specific developmental criteria. You must fill out a Child Find/Pre-K Screening Referral.

Currently, BCSD does not offer a program for 3-year-olds.
 

IMMUNIZATIONS
Q: I don't have my child's immunization record handy. Can I still enroll my child?
A: Immunization requirements vary from country to country and state to state. Your child must meet South Carolina State immunization requirements. According to the South Carolina State law, your child must present adequate immunization records within 30 calendar days of attendance or he/she will be suspended from school until that proof is presented. To learn more, visit the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SD DHEC) Children & School Vaccine Requirements.

GRADE PLACEMENT
Q: What is grade placement for my child?
A: By law, the age of your child determines grade placement in elementary and middle school age. In high school, prior educational background determines grade placement. The Welcome Center will take all the information available into account and make a recommendation to the school principal regarding grade placement.

Minimum age requirement for Kinder:

Children will be admitted into a Kindergarten program at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, or whenever they move into the district, if they have their fifth birthday on or before September 1, 2020.

K-12 PROGRAMS - 2020-2021
Birthdate	Grade Level
Born after 09/01/15	Not Eligible for Enrollment
09/02/14 - 9/01/15	Kindergarten
09/02/13 - 9/01/14	1	Elementary School
09/02/12 - 09/01/13	2
09/02/11 - 09/01/12	3
09/02/10 - 09/01/11	4
09/02/09 - 09/01/10	5
09/02/08 - 09/01/09	6	Middle School
09/02/07 - 09/01/08	7
09/02/06 - 09/01/07	8
09/02/05 - 09/01/06	9	High School  (When transcripts are   available.)
09/02/04 - 09/01/05	10
09/02/03 - 09/01/04	11
09/02/02 - 09/01/03	12

SCHOOL ZONE
Q: What school will my child attend?
A: Your child is guaranteed a seat in a school that is in your home attendance zone. At the time of registration, you must provide us with proof of your current address. Read below for a complete list of the required documents.

PROOF OF RESIDENCY
Q: What documents are needed to prove residency?
A: You need to provide one document from each box below for a total of two (2) documents.

The documents must show and match the parent/guardian and address listed above. If you are unable to provide one of the following documents, request the Alternate Proof of Residency Application.

You must provide one (1) of the following documents:

Document	Details
Real Estate Tax Bill	Must be the most recent bill.
Signed Lease	Dated within 1 year of the first day of attendance.
Military Housing Letter
Section 8 Letter

You also must provide an additional one (1) document of the following documents:

Document	Details
Utility Bill	Gas, Electric, Water/Sewer (Within last 60 days)
Phone Bill (Landline only)	Within last 60 days (Cell phone bills will not be accepted)
Cable Bill	Within last 60 days
Current Car Insurance Declaration Page	Must be an active policy
Current Home or Renters Insurance Declaration Page	Must be an active policy
Vehicle Registration	Must be for current period

Please provide copies of the documents above and make sure to black out account and social security numbers on the documents. All documents must be current and show the name and address of the parent(s)/ guardian(s). Envelopes will not be accepted.

Notice: Parent/Guardians will be given 30 days to provide documentation of residency from the date of enrollment. A home visit may be conducted by the school’s social worker or other school official if documentation is not provided within 30 calendar days.

If it is found that a parent/guardian is knowingly or willfully providing false information to a school district regarding the residency of a child for the purpose of enabling that child to attend any school in that district, the adult can be prosecuted for providing false information, a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to $200 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days and required to pay an amount equal to the cost of educating the child.

Q: I am new to the area and I am living with relatives/friends. How do I provide proof of my current address?
A: You need to provide the same documents as described above. Request the Alternate Proof of Residency Application if you are unable to provide one of the needed documents. The Welcome Center staff will give you more details to temporarily admit your learner(s) enrollment under these circumstances.

Knowingly or willfully providing false information to a school district regarding the residency of a child for the purpose of enabling that child to attend any school in that district, the adult can be prosecuted for providing false information, a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to $200 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days and required to pay an amount equal to the cost of educating the child.
 

PREFERRED LANGUAGE AND ENGLISH SCREENER TEST
Q: My child does not speak English. What is available to help my child to learn English?
A: Beaufort County School District offers an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program. ESOL is an instructional program that assists students in learning English as soon as possible in reading, writing, listening, and speaking areas.

I mainly speak another language other than English and my child was born in the United States. Do I still need to bring my child to the Welcome Center?

Maybe. If your child speaks a language at home other than English, then, yes, he or she will need to be assessed with the English proficiency test given by the staff at the Welcome Center. If your child only speaks English, then, no, your child will not need to come to the Welcome Center.

Q: What kind of English screener test will my child have, and does it count for something?
A: If your child has a language at home other than English, he or she will be screened with the WIDA Access Placement Test (KW-APT or WIDA Screener). This is a language proficiency test which indicates whether your child requires ESOL services or not. It is not graded it and will not prohibit attendance to a school. This assessment will let your child’s ESOL teacher(s) know how to better assist them in becoming English proficient.

Additionally, ESOL students are assessed using state and locally required exams to determine academic progress. Each spring your student will be given the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State (ACCESS) Test to measure annual progress in English language acquisition. It is important that your learner takes this assessment very seriously because it measures the student’s academic achievement in English as a Second Language. The results are used by the teachers to customize the ESOL content for the student with the purpose of ensuring the student’s success in the mainstream classes.

Q: What is ESOL?
A: ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) services are provided to assist students with limited English skills to function in the regular English-speaking classroom, to develop proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in English, and to develop knowledge about the customs and culture of the nation, community and the school. Program leaders, coaches, teachers, and bilingual liaisons are helpful in facilitating resource information to the ESOL families to help them easily absorb the culture of their new place they chose to call home.

ESOL services are provided district wide.  A home language survey must be administered to determine if a student is a potential English Learner (EL) student. 

The three required questions are:

1. What language did the student first learn to speak?

2.  What language is spoken most often by the student?

3. What language is primarily used in the student’s home regardless of the language spoken by the student?

If the responses indicate that the student speaks a language other than English, then a language proficiency assessment must be administered to determine if the student qualifies as an ELL student.

For more information regarding this assessment, please contact the Welcome Center.

MOVING FROM ANOTHER STATE
Q: We are moving to Beaufort county from another school district within the United States. My student(s) speaks English as well as his/her native language. Do I still need to contact the Welcome Center?
A: Yes, please contact us.

Before moving, you need to request and fill out a withdrawal form at your child’s current school. Turn the form in as quickly as possible so that the form can be processed, and your child’s records can be released to the new school in the Beaufort County School District. Please request a student file copy for your own records. If your child has received ESOL services in the last school, please ask for copies of the results of any assessments.

The Welcome Center will identify if the previous school is in one of the 40 U.S. states part of the WIDA Consortium. Depending on this and the Home Language Survey answers, the Welcome Center staff will request the student to come or not to have the WIDA screener done.
 

OTHER QUESTIONS
Q: Our family is homeless. Can I still enroll my child in school even if I do not have a proof of residence?
A: Yes. The federal McKinney-Vento Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and state regulations mandate immediate enrollment of students who lack a fixed, regular, or adequate housing and are considered homeless.

The McKinney-Vento Act defines the term "homeless children and youth" as including, in part, "children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement," as well as children of migratory agricultural workers. Visit  McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act for more information.

Q: My niece/nephew/cousin/sibling wants to come to America to live with me and go to school. What do I need to do to complete the school enrollment?
A: This is a special circumstance that requires special conditions. Every child above 5 and under the age 16 living in the Beaufort county boundaries must attend school no matter what the situation. In these circumstances, you need to have a written custody or guardianship arrangement that involves the student, the Beaufort County School District will need a copy of the agreement which must be notarized.

Additional information may be required in determining which regulations will guide the enrollment of the students. Your niece’s/nephew’s/cousin’s/sibling’s circumstance may be considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act. Please contact the Welcome Center for more information.

Q: My child has graduated from high school in my home country but wants to attend American high school to learn English. What is the enrollment process?
A: If your child has a high school diploma from another country, he/she may not enroll in one of our high schools. However, he/she may enroll in adult education classes with our school district.

Q: Does Beaufort County School District register unaccompanied minors?
A: Yes. Under federal law, all children in the United States are entitled to a public elementary and secondary education regardless of their race, color, national origin, citizenship, or immigration status of their parents/guardian. For more information, read the Dear Colleague letter from The United States Department of Justice.

Q: My child has a disability, can he/she still receive English language services?
A: Yes, neither federal nor state regulations prohibit a student who is receiving ESOL services from being evaluated for special education services. Conversely, a student who is determined eligible for special education services can continue to receive bilingual/ESOL services.