CLDE (Culturally Linguistically Diverse Education)

The Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) Office supports students who are learning English as a second language. Our English Language Development (ELD) program supports culturally and linguistically diverse students so that they can participate equally and meaningfully in the classroom. Our ELD program provides rigorous instruction to English language learners to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in order for them to achieve grade-level proficiency and become successful in workforce and post-secondary environments. Manitou Springs School District is committed to supporting our culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families. We provide translation and interpreter services to ensure good communication between our schools, our parents and community members.


Parent & Community Partnerships
We value students' home languages and cultures. We understand that the language of the home is a fundamental learning tool for all students and we support and encourage native language use at home. Further, we value participation by parents in their child's school.


Translation and Interpreter Services: The district offers translation and interpreter services to our parents who speak a language other than English. For support in scheduling an interpreter for a parent meeting, please contact the office of Culturally and Linguistically Education at : 719-685-2040.

Colorin Colorado: Colorín Colorado is a free web-based service that provides information, activities and advice for educators and Spanish-speaking families of English language learners (ELLs).
Colorín Colorado es un servicio gratuito, basado en Internet, que ofrece información, actividades y asesoría a educadores y familias de estudiantes del idioma inglés como segundo idioma, en particular aquellos que hablan español castellano. http://www.colorincolorado.org/



Process for CLDE in Manitou Springs School District


1.  All parents complete the Home Language Survey upon registering their student

2.  Students whose parents have marked indicted a language other than English are contacted and the WIDA screener is given by each building

3.  The WIDA screener is given and if a student is scored as Not English Proficient (NEP) or Limited English Proficient (LEP) the team determines services

4.  Services are started at the building level and progress data is taken

5.  In January the WIDA ACCESS is given to all students who score NEP or LEP

ELL PD Standards Matrix (Excel)

Updated Parent/Guardian Resources

WIDA has five new or refreshed flyers for educators to share with parents, guardians, and families. These flyers, available in 13 languages, can be found in the Resource Library on the WIDA website, and on the Family Engagement page.

*NEW* What is Language Testing? – This flyer explains what language testing is, and why it’s important to help students build academic English language skills.
Explaining ELL Status – This flyer explains to families what it means to be identified as an English language learner, how their child was identified, and what the family should expect in terms of assessment and instructional support.
What is ACCESS for ELLs? – This handout helps parents and families understand the ACCESS for ELLs assessment and its components, and replaces the ACCESS for ELLs and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs Parent Handouts.
ACCESS for ELLs: Understanding Your Child's Scores – This flyer, replacing the Parent Guide for ACCESS for ELLs Score Reports, helps parents and families understand the Individual Student Report in a more comprehensible format.
The Alternate ACCESS for ELLs: Understanding Your Child's Scores flyer replaces the Parent Guide for Alternate ACCESS for ELLs Score Reports, and presents the information in the Individual Student Report in a more comprehensible format.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS