Celina ISD reclassified 145 students as proficient enough in English to leave its language-support programs last school year, according to the district's annual Emergent Bilingual program evaluation, which goes to the Board of Trustees on Monday, Oct. 26.
State law and Texas Education Agency rules require districts to review their programs for English learners, whom Texas calls emergent bilinguals, every year and report the results to their boards and to the agency. Coordinator Vanessa Hurtado-Jaramillo is scheduled to present the 2025-26 review as an information item, so no vote is expected.
Who is in the program
The report lists 141 newcomer students: 89 in elementary schools, 29 in middle school and 23 in high school. Their home countries include China, Colombia, India, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ukraine, Venezuela and Vietnam, among 18 listed.
The district offers English as a Second Language from pre-K through 12th grade, a one-way Spanish dual language program in pre-K through fifth grade at the Early Childhood School and Lykins Elementary, and newcomer support. The district also holds a state bilingual program exception, dated Nov. 1, 2025, for an early-transition bilingual program in Telugu for pre-K and kindergarten.
Of the 145 reclassified students, 105 were in elementary school, 27 in middle school and 13 in high school.
Special education and gifted services
The number of emergent bilingual students also receiving special education services rose from 160 in 2024-25 to 316 in 2025-26, with most of the increase in elementary grades. The report says about 15.9% of the district's emergent bilingual students are identified for both programs. Twenty-eight emergent bilingual students took part in gifted and talented services last year, up from 22.