Big Hike In LTHS Bilingual Students

LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School has increased staff in its bilingual program, which is leading to progress, an official said Monday.

"Because of everything we have implemented, we have seen a higher attendance rate," bilingual coordinator Julie Jacobo said at a school board meeting. "So students who did not have any multilingual classes last year were truly struggling. We had many students who were failing every single class. This year, those same students are passing all of those classes."

"They are telling us how grateful they are for the teachers that are in those spaces with them," said Jacobo, who was hired in 2022.

This school year, the bilingual program has 197 students. That's a nearly 50 percent increase from the 2021-22 year, when 134 were in the program, according to school statistics.

"We know that the Latine population will continue to increase," Jacobo said.

Of the current number, 161 of the students, or 82 percent, speak Spanish.

The program consists of students who speak 19 other languages. Besides Spanish, the top ones are Arabic (six students); Serbian (five); Tagalog, a language in the Philippines (four), Lithuanian (four), Mandarin (two) and Macedonian (two).