South Carolina
Multilingual Learner Educator Network
Embedded Files
What We Do
What We Do
SCMLE advocates for multilingual learners by providing South Carolina educators with professional learning and multilingual resources that strengthen instruction and support student belonging.
Why ML Educators Need Us
Why ML Educators Need Us
Multilingual students often face systemic barriers that make it harder for them to succeed, but SCMLE exists to change that. We provide free professional development and classroom resources to help educators create more inclusive, welcoming classrooms where multilingual students can thrive! We also provide customized fee-based professional learning, coaching, and consulting for school districts and organizations. Contact us to learn more here!
The Multilingual Literary Crisis
Multilingual learners (MLs) in South Carolina face systemic barriers to receiving a quality
education that leverages their unique skills and abilities. Even though MLs represent 10% of the state's student population, teachers frequently lack the necessary training to support these students effectively. This barrier results in poor academic outcomes and social-emotional challenges for students and overwhelm among educators.
The People We Serve
We help teachers support over 77,000 multilingual K-12 students, about 10% of the state's students. About 26,000 students are immigrants. These students represent 177 countries, speak 124 languages, and face challenges like learning English, lower academic performance, and feeling out of place. Many educators lack the training and resources to support these students, and ML programs are often understaffed and underresourced.
The Supporting Data
From 2000-2001 to 2019-2020, South Carolina's ML population grew by approximately
400%. Despite this rapid growth, there is currently no requirement for South Carolina teachers to
receive professional development on teaching MLs. In 2024-2025, 61.8% of MLs in South Carolina
did not meet annual progress toward target English proficiency. The 77.8% graduation rate for MLs in South Carolina remains significantly lower than the overall rate of 86.7%.
SCMLE's Strategic Response
Every student deserves the opportunity to experience academic success and belonging at school.
We equip South Carolina educators to ensure multilingual learners achieve academic success
and find belonging in and beyond the classroom.
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